The faces of the freight war
Canadian chaplains respond to the war wounds of stranded seafarers.
Since February, the U.S.-Iran conflict has drawn global attention to the narrow strip of sea between Oman and Iran. The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, is considered one of the most important waterways in the global transit of goods.
Now, it’s caught directly in the crossfire of the U.S. and Iran’s battle for control. For Canadians, it poses a financial headache: increased retail prices of consumer goods and gas. But for the estimated 20,000 seafarers who experienced being stranded in the Strait since the conflict began, the situation is nothing short of a nightmare.
What’s happening in Hormuz?
As the U.S.-Iran conflict continues, you can track live updates in the Strait of Hormuz through shipfinder.com/special/hormuz.
Four months trapped
Christian Courier (CC) was able to get in touch with Jeremy Palmer, a Filipino seafarer who passed through the Strait of Hormuz aboard the MV Ermis in July.
Palmer has worked for Global Gateway based in the Philippines for seven years. Between spotty internet connection, a time difference and his on-board duties, Palmer and CC communicated through Facebook Messenger. At the time of this writing, he was en route to Brazil, but the memory of Hormuz still cast a shadow over his journey.
From March to July, Palmer and his crew were adrift in the Arabian Sea “wait[ing] for the war to decrease the tension at the Strait of Hormuz” so they could enter.
Early July provided a window for entrance as the week-long funeral procession for Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei took place. A temporary maritime corridor established by Oman in collaboration with the UN’s International Maritime Organization allowed the MV Ermis to begin its trek through the Strait of Hormuz on July 6.
“We decided to transit at daytime so we [could] see other vessels go through Hormuz, because we experienced GPS jamming,” Palmer wrote in a message to CC.
“The crew was frightened,” he continued, “so we decided to stop working and go to a safer place as one and communicate with each other so that [we] could ease the fear.” Because ship citadels are often the target of attacks, the crew decided the mess hall, or dining room, was the safest place to be. There, they huddled together for several hours as they waited for the MV Ermis to make it through.
That same day, three commercial ships were hit by Iranian projectiles. Palmer and his crew were unaware of these attacks during their transit; they found out later through the news.
One day after the MV Ermis docked in Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates, the U.S.-Iran ceasefire shattered when the U.S. launched a flurry of attacks on Iranian navy assets. Transit through the Omani corridor plummeted, military surveillance tightened and tensions rose. Although Palmer says the crew felt safe in Jebel Ali, the knowledge that they had to cross the Strait again loomed heavy during their stay.
When Palmer and his crew left Jebel Ali during daylight hours on July 17, they “were just continuing to send a position to the U.S. Navy so that they [could] monitor [the] transit.”
Although the MV Ermis safely entered and exited the Strait of Hormuz, the crew will not quickly forget the horrors of the trip.
“It was stressful,” Palmer said. “It [will take] months just to be relieved of the stress.”
Palmer says in a message to CC that if he receives another contract for a job that requires going through the Strait, he won’t take it: “I will refuse to sail.”
Seafarer ministry
“The world is paying attention to the lives of seafarers. It’s not good for [them] right now,” Reverend Eric Phinney told CC. Phinney is the Canadian Regional Director of the Mission to Seafarers, a global Anglican ministry that supports individuals aboard commercial vessels.
“Within the structure of the maritime industry,” Phinney said, “there’s not a lot of pieces that actually care for the individual onboard the ship.”
Organizations such as Mission to Seafarers as well as the Ministry to Seafarers, supported by the Christian Reformed Church, seek to fill this gap and meet seafarers where they are at – not just on the map, but mentally and spiritually as well.
“If you’re a seafarer, you’re probably doing something that you’ve been called to do,” Phinney says. He adds that a common sentiment amongst seafarers is that they are a bridge between the world’s nations and resources. The Mission seeks to maintain these bridges by caring for the individuals onboard vessels.
One way they do this is through tracking the well-being of seafarers through a feedback-based happiness index. “It has taken a significant dip over the last six months,” Phinney said. “And that’s related to what’s happening in the Strait.”
“We know that seafarers are not feeling as good as they have been in the past,” he added. “We’ve mounted an effort to ask our chaplains to pay attention to this.”
Reverend Gary Roosma is a chaplain who works with the Ministry to Seafarers in Vancouver. He greets seafarers at the ports with whatever support they need: prayer, a ride to Walmart, a listening ear or a visit to the hospital.
“We try to visit them as early as possible after they arrive just to get them acquainted and to let them know where we are,” he said.
Processing Hormuz
In May, Roosma met a crew in Vancouver who had recently escaped the Strait of Hormuz. They shared stories of fleeing in the middle of the night with the lights and transponders off, hugging the Omani shore and praying they wouldn’t be seen. Although they escaped, a larger crude oil ship only a few nautical miles away was hit by Iranian forces.
“I think there can be a bit of PTSD for them,” Roosma told CC. “They were definitely processing that whole experience. And I think they will be for a while.”
Seafarers are away from their homes and families for months on end. They work long hours, harbour in unfamiliar cities, and risk their lives in disputed territory and pirate-run waters. Crews reach ports exhausted, homesick and burdened with harrowing tales of troubled waters.
As the U.S.-Iran war continues, Palmer will return to land and take other contracts, but the memory of the MV Ermis’ journey through Hormuz will not be forgotten.
“Everything goes back to normal,” he says, “but the memories and stories are still there.”
