{"id":329963,"date":"2026-05-06T05:41:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T00:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=329963"},"modified":"2026-05-06T05:41:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T00:11:47","slug":"sailors-stranded-in-strait-of-hormuz-for-months-eager-to-hug-families-news-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/06\/sailors-stranded-in-strait-of-hormuz-for-months-eager-to-hug-families-news-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Sailors stranded in Strait of Hormuz for months ‘eager to hug families’ | News World"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As Donald Trump launches a brand new plan to get ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a few of the 1000’s of seafarers who’ve been stranded because the start of the war are feeling lower than optimistic.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s been numerous missile watch and table tennis,\u2019 Captain Raman Kapoor said. <\/p>\n

As of this month, around 20,000 seafarers are trapped on 2,000 ships across the Persian Gulf as missiles proceed to rain down on the Strait of Hormuz. <\/p>\n

The Hormuz Strait is a vital waterway, which 20% of the world\u2019s oil and natural gas supply is supposed to go through freely. <\/p>\n

But maritime staff have been stuck within the water ever since US President Donald Trump launched Operation Epic Fury with Israel on February 28 against Iran. <\/p>\n

This includes Captain Kapoor and his 23 crew members, who at the moment are six months into what was meant to be a four-month trip. <\/p>\n

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He told Metro<\/strong>: \u2018All of us miss our families. The very first thing I’ll do after I get back to India is hug my wife, kids and oldsters.<\/p>\n

\u2018I’m used to working away for long stints, but this time it was different. This time I used to be stuck in a war zone.\u2019 <\/p>\n

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The Strait of Hormuz between southern Iran and Oman\u2019s Musandam Peninsula (Photo enhanced and published by maps4media via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A Thai-flagged cargo ship on fire after being hit by Iranian missiles within the Strait of Hormuz (Picture: EPA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Captain Kapoor\u2019s ship, which transports crude oil, was on its way back to India when violence erupted across the Middle East. <\/p>\n

The ship was situated near the Strait of Hormuz, which has been a source of utter frustration for Trump because the Iranians sealed off access, causing fuel prices to soar. <\/p>\n

Neighboring ships have been hit with drones and debris, and Captain Kapoor\u2019s crew has been, understandably, tense. <\/p>\n

There may be a brand new rota on board for round the clock missile watches, but numerous cleansing jobs are also getting done because the ship waits for permission to sail. <\/p>\n

\u2018We just don\u2019t want people to isolate themselves,\u2019 Captain Kapoor said. \u2018That\u2019s when morale really hits all-time low, and that’s my priority.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Evenings are spent playing table tennis and eating from their recently replenished stock, delivered to them by a much smaller boat. <\/p>\n

There may be little hope Trump\u2019s recent Project Freedom, which is able to see the US \u2018guiding\u2019 ships which have been stuck within the Strait of Hormuz, will make any difference. <\/p>\n

The 1000’s of seafarers who’ve been stranded have heard repeated guarantees from each Iran and the US the Strait will reopen for his or her secure passage.<\/p>\n

Captain Kapoor said: \u2018Nothing ever stays for long with Trump. There are ceasefires, after which there are not any ceasefires. Iran lets us in, then they modify their mind.\u2019<\/p>\n

And the International Transport Employees\u2019 Federation agrees. <\/p>\n

General Secretary, Stephen Cotton, said: \u2018In the intervening time, there’s little clarity on how Project Freedom will provide secure evacuation, nor assurance from Iran that transit will probably be guaranteed.<\/p>\n

\u2018Until we’ve got those assurances, we’re calling on shipowners and flag states to not treat this announcement as a green light. These staff have already endured weeks of fear, uncertainty and hardship. They have to not now be put in harm\u2019s way.<\/p>\n

Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: Iranian exiles fear being on \u2018pro-regime kill lists\u2019 after being doxed on Telegram<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: 1000’s of sailors stranded in Strait of Hormuz left waiting for Trump\u2019s \u2018Project Freedom\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: Trump says he desires to stay in power until 2035 so he can enjoy mega ballroom<\/span><\/p>\n

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To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to an internet browser that supports HTML5 video As Donald Trump launches a brand new plan to get ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a few of the 1000’s of seafarers who’ve been stranded because the start of the war are feeling lower than optimistic. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":329964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20691],"tags":[10738,9287,35584,22118,3965,395,37966,21282,15677,813],"class_list":["post-329963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-desperate","tag-families","tag-hormuz","tag-hug","tag-months","tag-news","tag-sailors","tag-strait","tag-stranded","tag-world"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329963"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":329966,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329963\/revisions\/329966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}