‘Mental breakdown’: oil tanker workers stuck in Gulf for six weeks are reaching their limit

Seafarer tells of ‘impossible’ situation, with strait still so unsafe that crew would not cross even if told to sail Maritime and port workers: how is the Middle East conflict affecting you? ‘You can try to minimise the impact that this situation has on your mental health but it’s becoming impossible.” After six weeks stranded in the Gulf, one of the 20,000 seafarers trapped by Iran’s chokehold on the strait of Hormuz is reaching their limit. Yet with the fragile Middle East ceasefire already fraying, the oil tanker worker – who first spoke to the Guardian a month ago – said any hope they may soon be free to leave had already evaporated, if it ever felt real at all. “We’re at anchor, near dozens of loaded tankers. No one has moved an inch,” said the crew member, one of hundreds anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates with a clear view of the loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker set ablaze by an Iranian missile less than a fortnight ago. Within hours of the ceasefire being agreed, the tell-tale plumes of intercepted missiles streaked the sky above their vessels. After a month and a half of drone attacks and reports of underwater mines, many seafarers feel unwil

Apr 9, 2026 → Apr 9, 2026