00:00More than 20,000 sailors on 2,000 ships are thought to be stranded due to the closure to international
00:07shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
00:10Many have been stuck on their ships since the start of this conflict in February.
00:15Guy Platton is the chair of the Mission to Seafarers.
00:18Guy, welcome, good to see you.
00:20What are you hearing from the seafarers stranded in the Strait of Hormuz?
00:25I wonder how they're managing.
00:28I think frustration, I think a little bit of fear of what's around the corner.
00:34I think just don't know what's going on really and when it's all going to be resolved.
00:38I think some of them have been stuck on for months now.
00:40I think food and supplies are okay, but it's the psychological effect I think really mainly.
00:46And also, of course, their families will be really worried about them.
00:49I mean, global shipping has been through a number of crisis in recent years, hasn't it?
00:53I mean, I'm thinking about the Suez Canal blockage, the Panama Canal crisis, and, of course, COVID.
00:59I mean, I wonder how this situation compares for the global shipping sector.
01:04Well, I think it's obviously, it's regionalised in a sense it's not all the ships around the world.
01:09It's a ship stuck in the Strait of Hormuz.
01:10And you're right, COVID was an awful time for seafarers.
01:13A lot of the nations wanted the goods to come in.
01:15But there was, at one time, over 400,000 seafarers stuck on board ships, unable to get off.
01:20So it's really dreadful, the 20,000.
01:24But it's just really know what's around the corner next.
01:28When is this going to get resolved?
01:30We're hearing sort of peace talks are underway.
01:32Let's hope something, there's a resolution there.
01:33We can get their ships out and they can get back on with their jobs and back home to their
01:38families.
01:38Are there any alternatives available for the ships and their crews, other than simply stand and await confirmation of safe
01:47passage?
01:48Not really, to be honest with you, because that's the only way out of the Gulf.
01:52So until they have surety that they can pass safely through the Straits of Hormuz, their only option really is
01:58to stay put.
01:59And that's indeed what ship owners are doing as well.
02:01They're not really risking sending their ships through until they know that they'll not be attacked.
02:06So that's, it's just a wait-and-see game at the moment.
02:09What are these people doing for supplies of food and medical supplies?
02:15So they'll be well supplied from the different ports around the Gulf region.
02:19So that's not a major concern.
02:21I mean, water has to be replenished.
02:22They won't be able to make their own water, for example, so that'll have to come in.
02:25So that's, I'm not hearing that's a major problem.
02:28I think it's really just time on board the ship waiting to see what happens and how unsettling there must
02:34be.
02:34And I always remember this, the families at the end of the day, they don't know what's going on and
02:38they'll be extremely worried about their loved ones.
02:41I mean, I guess that it's our industry's fault in a sense.
02:45I mean, the headlines have been absolutely consumed with the narrative of politicians and the military action.
02:51These innocent people caught in the middle of this have had less coverage, haven't they?
02:57Indeed, I think it's great that you're highlighting their plight.
03:00I mean, they get access to, a lot of them get access to internet, but they'll be following the events
03:04of what's going on, just wondering what's next, really.
03:07I think that's, it's very frustrating for them.
03:09And I think it's right to highlight.
03:11These are civilians.
03:12They're caught up in a conflict, not of their making.
03:15And I think we should always bear that in mind.
03:16They just want to get on with their job, which is really supplying the world with the food, the fuel
03:20and all of the supplies that we need to keep ourselves going.
03:23I guess it's a big shock, isn't it, for us in the 21st century, used to air travel, to realise
03:30quite so bluntly how dependent the world is on this narrow stretch of water.
03:37Indeed, exactly 20% of the oil supplies.
03:41But I think it was one international maritime organization, Secretary General, who said,
03:45without shipping, half the world will starve and half the world will freeze.
03:48So there's some truth to that, really.
03:50We are so dependent on these ships to get through with the fuel, the food, everything that we look, that
03:56makes everyday living bearable.
03:58Guy, good to talk to you.
03:59And thank you very much for coming on the program.
04:01Guy Platten, the chair of the Mission to Seafarers.
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