“You can try to minimize the impact this situation has on your mental health, but it has become impossible.” After six weeks stuck in the Persian Gulf, one of the 20,000 sailors trapped in the snare Iran set in the Strait of Hormuz says he’s reached his limit. And with the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East already crumbling, any hope that he could go home soon has evaporated – if it was ever real, truly, writes The Guardian.
“We are anchored, close to dozens of loaded oil tankers. Nobody has lifted a finger,” a crew member told The Guardian, one of the few hundred sailors anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, from where he has a direct view of the loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker that was hit and set on fire by an Iranian missile less than two weeks ago.
Just a few hours after the ceasefire had been announced, the unmistakable signs of intercepted missiles were once again streaking across the sky above their ships. After a month and a half of drone attacks and reports of underwater mines, many sailors no longer want and can no longer cross the strait – even if the armistice would allow them to do so.
“I submitted my notice exactly one month ago,” said the sailor, who first spoke to The Guardian a month ago. “I informed the commander that I am not willing to navigate through the strait. It’s about safety, everything comes down to safety.”
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