Sailors stressed and exhausted after months trapped by Strait of Hormuz blockade

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: Sailors stressed and exhausted after months trapped by Strait of Hormuz blockade20 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleMukimul Himel , News Bangla ,Mohammed Zubair Khan , World ServiceandGrace Tsoi , World ServiceReutersThe sea is sometimes so tranquil that Captain Hassan Khan forgets his ship has been stuck in the middle of a war zone for three months. "It is really strange that everything looks normal outside, but people inside are not calm," says the Pakistani sailor, who doesn't want to use his real name. Things may look normal in this part of the Gulf, but they are certainly not.

Khan and 20,000 other sailors have been trapped in or near the Strait of Hormuz by the US-Israeli war with Iran since late February. What was once one of the world's busiest waterways, used to transport a fifth of the globe's oil and gas, has ground to a halt as missiles fly overhead and mines are laid beneath the waves. Despite this, the crew on Capt Khan's ship has been trying to follow the usual work routine - although no one wants to leave the ship for rarely-allowed shore breaks, while cheerful banter has given way to anxious silence punctuated by the buzzing of phones.

The Details

People jump at the smallest sound, even in their sleep. "The stress stays in our mind all the time," Khan says. "Everyone is just exhausted – both physically and mentally.

"Crossings and suppliesEven without the danger posed by the missiles and mines, the 1,600 ships that the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) estimates to be stuck on the wrong side of the Strait of Hormuz are unable to leave. Days after the war began, Iran shut the narrow waterway - the only way out of the Gulf - and refused to let anyone through without its express permission. "It is as if we are trapped in a pond.

There's only one way out, and that's Hormuz," explains the captain of another vessel, Shafiqul Islam. Islam, whose Bangladesh-owned ship the Banglar Joyjatra is carrying about 37,000 tonnes of fertiliser bound for South Africa, has twice tried to leave in the months since. Both attempts have ended in failure.

What Experts Say

After the announcement of a ceasefire on 8 April, Islam caught wind that another ship had been given permission by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to cross. He then steered his ship towards the critical waterway along with four other vessels. Shortly after, they were warned not to proceed.

Nine days later, Islam tried again as Iran said the strait would be "completely open" for all commercial vessels in line with the ceasefire. But Iran quickly reversed the decision after the US kept the blockade of its ports in place. By then, Islam's ship had already come within 30 nautical miles of the strait.

He had no choice but to turn it away as warnings of attacks continued to crackle over the radio.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.