09/09/2026
Refuse to life😓
There’s a part of this story people on shore rarely talk about: sometimes refusing the voyage is not as simple as saying no.
They said, “If it’s too dangerous, don’t go.” But for a seafarer, that decision can mean more than leaving a ship. It can mean losing income, missing a contract, falling behind on bills, or leaving a family without the money they depend on.
An able seafarer on an oil tanker may know exactly what the risk looks like when the route passes through a conflict zone. Yet the mortgage, school fees, food on the table, and people waiting at home do not disappear because the sea became dangerous.
And this is happening while civilian crews are actually being killed. The IMO has confirmed 72 incidents in and around the Strait of Hormuz, with 21 seafarer fatalities as of September 2.
They are not soldiers. They are workers trying to earn a living. That is what makes this so painful.