‘Mental breakdown’: oil tanker workers stuck in Gulf for six weeks are reaching their limit

‘You can try to minimise the impact that this situation has on your mental health but it’s becoming impossible.” After six weeks stranded in the Gulf, one of the 20,000 seafarers trapped by Iran’s chokehold on the strait of Hormuz is reaching their limit.

Yet with the fragile Middle East ceasefire already fraying, the oil tanker worker – who first spoke to the Guardian a month ago – said any hope they may soon be free to leave had already evaporated, if it ever felt real at all.

“We’re at anchor, near dozens of loaded tankers. No one has moved an inch,” said the crew member, one of hundreds anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates with a clear view of the loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker set ablaze by an Iranian missile less than a fortnight ago.

Within hours of the ceasefire being agreed, the tell-tale plumes of intercepted missiles streaked the sky above their vessels. After a month and a half of drone attacks and reports on underwater mines, many seafarers feel unwilling and unable to traverse the strait – even if the ceasefire allowed them to do so.

“I gave my notice exactly one month ago,” the seafarer said. “I’ve informed the master, I’m not willing to sail through the strait. It’s about safety, it’s all about safety.”

Aboard the same tanker, most of the crew feel the same, they added, saying about 90% of those on board want to exercise their right to refuse to sail. One crew member has suffered a “mental breakdown”, and is being checked on regularly by colleagues.

“I’ve no doubt that this particular issue, this mental breakdown, is happening [on tankers] all around us from the stress of this situation. Seafarer support [phone] lines are trying to help, but from the beginning we have all known that it would not be enough,” the seafarer said.

Since the start of the conflict, the trade union the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has received about 1,000 inquiries from seafarers on 300 different vessels. About 20% were from those seeking repatriation. Other concerns were about pay or access to essential supplies like fuel, food and water.

After the recent attack on Kuwait’s Al-Salmi oil tanker just a few miles away, the seafarer called a helpline for the first time. “I was a bit overwhelmed and I wasn’t sure if I could handle how I was feeling. It’s important to me that others don’t see me cry. It did help, just to vent out all the feelings to a stranger.”

However, there is only so much that advice and reassurance from a distance can do, according to David Appleton, a senior leader at Nautilus, which represents ship staff. “Everyone does their best to assist, but really what you want to do is get people out of the situation,” he said.

“In addition to the mental toll that the threat of violence takes on people – the fact that you’re sitting there almost as a sitting duck – there is also the uncertainty, and not knowing how long it’s going go on,” Appleton added.

The eroding mental health of those on board stranded tankers has reignited calls for shipowners to replace their crews with mariners willing to offer relief. Under maritime regulations shipping companies cannot force seafarers to work in hazardous zones, but there will still be those desperate enough to take up the work.

“Most of our potential relievers are Ukrainian seafarers; the ones who are away from their homes, spending money in foreign European countries because they can’t go back home,” the seafarer said.

Shipping companies are required to offer double pay to crew working in hazardous areas. They are expected to find those interested in promotion and give them a higher rank to sign on. They will also be looking for those who have been ashore the longest and need the work.

The seafarer said: “The only difference between them and us is choice. At least they will be making a choice to come here, regardless of why they choose to do so.”

They hope that within the coming weeks their tanker will be taken to anchorage to allow new crew to take the places of those unwilling or unable to carry on.

“The captain had an informal conversation with our crew manager, who was trying to get the crew to stay aboard until we reach the discharge port but he immediately shut that down,” they said.

“I’m in no mental condition to perform any intense task after all of this. It is the hardest situation that I have ever been in,” the worker said. There is no guarantee they will ever return to the sea.

“I have worked on tankers all my life. To go, means letting go of all I’ve accomplished. But to stay in this work, means there is a chance that I’ll have to return here eventually. I will only be able to make that decision after a few months of being off this tanker. At home,” they said.