The Forward Seamen’s Union of India has raised concerns that some shipowners are pressuring seafarers to sail through the high-risk zone in the Strait of Hormuz against their wishes, an apparent breach of the right to request repatriation under the MLC. Multiple vessels have come under fire from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in recent weeks, and a chief engineer was killed by an Iranian strike on a bulker overnight Monday.
Against this background, FSUI has been campaigning to ensure that seafarers can exercise their right to choose whether to enter a designated war risk zone. In a video appeal that FSUI released August 17, the master of the foreign-flagged MPSV AM Pioneer alleged that the ship’s operator is “forcing us to cross Hormuz and go to Fujairah.” He claimed that the firm had begun to make security arrangements with U.S. forces for a passage from Ras al-Khaimah to the Gulf of Oman through the contested southern lane, where Iran has targeted neutral shipping.
Forcing Seafarers to strait of Death #Shipowners and managers of Marshall Islands-flagged vessel AM Pioneer are pressuring the Master to force its 16 Indian crew to transit the high-risk Strait of Hormuz.
The crew has clearly refused. They will not put their lives in danger. They… pic.twitter.com/AE1qfq1Byf
— FSUI (@FSUIINDIA) August 17, 2026
The master and his officers said that they had signed on a month ago to perform a survey of the vessel, and that they had agreed to go through Hormuz once the waterway was formally open and safe for all ships – not beforehand.
The company later denied having pressured the captain to make the run through the strait, the master said. The following day, according to FSUI, the managers subsequently removed the captain with immediate sign-off.
Effective July 15, the Directorate General of Shipping of India ordered shipping and crewing companies not to send Indian seafarers on voyages through the Strait of Hormuz, given the potential risk of attack by Iranian forces. Iran has repeatedly targeted vessels that do not comply with its “Persian Gulf Strait Authority” traffic management scheme.
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FSUI has emphasized the hazards and the directorate’s instructions. “No seafarer should risk death for owners’ profits or convenience. Immediate repatriation with full wages and dues is non-negotiable,” FSUI said in a statement.
Indian seafarers make up more than 10 percent of the global mariner pool, and may be an even larger share of the crewmembers who are waiting on the west side of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the FSUI.
