Sailors weigh safe harbour against risky passage with higher pay

They can disembark before Hormuz, wait for safer assignments or sail on for hefty bonuses

A seafarer can now choose to disembark before a ship enters the Strait of Hormuz. Another may refuse a voyage altogether and wait for a safer assignment. Those who agree to sail through the war zone, meanwhile, can command bonuses worth several months of their regular salary. 

As the West Asia war enters its sixth month and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which began in 2022, remains far from over, prolonged disruption on key trade routes such as the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf, and the Black Sea has left seafarers with limited choices: Wait for contracts in safer zones or accept high-risk transits for a price — in the form of incentives and war bonuses. 

Seafarers currently working with shipping firms told Business Standard that most companies have stopped operations in West Asian waters, but that is not an option for everyone. Firms, especially those in the oil and gas sector, still have to transit through these routes. 

According to trade intelligence provider Kpler, eight to 10 ships now pass through the Strait of Hormuz a day, down from over 100 before the war. To keep operations going, companies are offering a raft of incentives, including bonuses of up to six months’ salary, a war bonus equivalent to 100 per cent of a seafarer’s daily basic wage for each day of transit or stay, multiple chances to withdraw, the option to disembark before entering the Strait of Hormuz, and double the disability and death compensation. 

However, most of these are company policies rather than statutory rules, which means seafarers are not legally entitled to these benefits. “This approach of allowances is not uniform across the industry. So, the burden of the decision is on the seafarer,” says R P Veettil, founder and national president of the Sailors Union of India. 

Shivam Pathak, a seafarer who works for a UK-based shipping company as a third assistant sailor, says his company is now picking up oil from the US and supplying it to other parts of the world. “We always used to get standard risk guidelines before entering the Somalian coast or even the Red Sea, but this goes way beyond. Most companies with an employee-first approach are alerting the crew before entering the Strait of Hormuz and giving them an option to leave,” he says. 

Pathak returned in June from a European voyage and plans to look for a job on similar routes. “Because most of the hiring is temporary and we don’t have notice periods, we just need to sign a contract with another company that serves the routes we prefer,” he says. 

The risks, Pathak says, go beyond attacks. “Seafarers don’t have much say over the movement of ships in those areas. Those who are stuck there are facing shortages of food, medicines, and even drinking water,” he says. 

Taking longer breaks and waiting for things to normalise is another option, but it comes with its own challenges. Another seafarer, who is currently sailing in the Red Sea and works for a Saudi Arabia-headquartered shipping firm, says that if he wants to go home, he has to be relieved by another officer of the same rank. “Seafarers also cannot simply stay home until the situation improves, as there is always someone else waiting for employment,” he says. 

Even the Red Sea, he says, is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate because of Houthi attacks and disruption to vessels carrying Saudi crude. “The companies are mostly paying extra incentives only for the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea,” he adds. 

A young seafarer, who has recently qualified to sail and is employed by a Hong Kong-based ship management company, says the firm is not even entering the war zone, which means longer waits for an opportunity. 

“We are only hoping that it gets better. I have recently joined this profession and cannot afford to waste months,” he says. 

Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk told Business Standard that it has fully stopped operations in the risk zones. “For us, the safety and security of our seafarers, vessels, and customers’ cargo are a priority. We are not sailing where we see potential risks. So the question of our seafarers not making themselves available for sailing doesn’t really arise for us.” 

According to the Directorate General of Maritime Administration, 15 seafarers have been killed in West Asian and Black Sea waters. Two remain missing, and more than 75 have been injured. 

In a separate update, the Ministry of External Affairs said 166 Indian seafarers remained in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz region. Of these, 125 were on Indian-flagged vessels, and the remaining 41 were serving on foreign ships. 

Even as seafarers assess the risks before accepting contracts, their supply on these routes remains sufficient, as voyages are limited and the money is acting as a pull. 

According to Amit Khareta, who sailed for 10 years with Maersk Line and is currently the managing director of Barrow & Trent, a UK-based shipping company, firms understand the psychology well: Pay good money, and people can risk a lot. “We are getting more calls and more enquiries from seafarers asking for these jobs, not fewer,” he says. 

But money is not the only factor at play. In one recent case, Khareta says, a chief officer travelled all the way to Delhi for an early-morning flight to join his ship. He did not board. His wife did not allow him to go, and he returned home. 

As incidents increase, authorities are repeatedly asking companies to exercise caution. “But this is just advice. There’s no ban on sending Indian seafarers on these routes,” he says.

 

The cost of staying the course 

The incentives and risk bonuses are largely negotiated by foreign unions and are subject to agreements between shipowners and unions. 

In March 2026, the International Bargaining Forum (IBF) declared the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf a warlike operations area and fixed multiple entitlements for voyages through these waters. 

“But this applies only to ships covered by IBF or International Transport Workers’ Association agreements. Ships outside these agreements owe their crew nothing,” says Khareta. 

In India, the Directorate General of Shipping controls safety, licensing, and deployment but does not set any danger pay. 

Currently, Khareta says, the protection available to an Indian seafarer depends entirely on which agreement covers his ship. “Two Indian officers can sail through the same water on the same day. One gets double wages and the legal right to say no. The other gets nothing.” 

According to Veettil, timely crew changes, insurance coverage, emergency response mechanisms, and fair compensation have become increasingly important issues as the impact extends beyond seafarers to their families.