20,000 Seafarers Trapped in the Strait of Hormuz: Who Really Protects Maritime Crews?

Since late February 2026, approximately 20,000 seafarers have been trapped aboard some 800 vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Civilians caught in a military confrontation between major powers. Neither prisoners of war, nor hostages, nor shipwreck survivors: seafarers caught in geopolitical crises exist in a legal blind spot of international law.

This article reviews the applicable legal framework, the actual obligations of shipowners, and the concrete actions needed to protect their crews.

Neither Prisoners, Nor Hostages, Nor Survivors: An Unprecedented Legal Void

The legal situation is unprecedented. Maritime humanitarian expert Pierre Micheletti captures the core problem: “Seafarers are often at the intersection of several legal regimes without fully belonging to any of them.”

International humanitarian law — the Geneva Conventions — protects combatants and civilians in conflict zones. But merchant vessels blocked in an international strait fall outside all these categories. The Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) guarantees the right of innocent passage — but provides no protection mechanism for crews in the event of a military blockade.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has repeatedly called for the safety of seafarers and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. But its statements carry no binding force. As a result, the 20,000 stranded seafarers depend almost entirely on the contractual obligations of their shipowners — and the strength of the framework provided by the Maritime Labour Convention.

What the MLC 2006 Says — and Its Limits in Conflict Zones

The 2006 Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006) is the reference text for seafarers’ rights. Ratified by States representing over 91% of world gross tonnage, it applies to the vast majority of commercial vessels and sets minimum rights for every seafarer onboard.

It guarantees:

• Monthly payment of wages in full, regardless of the vessel’s situation

• The right to repatriation at the shipowner’s expense in the event of contract termination, abandonment, or inability to continue the voyage

• Decent living and working conditions: accommodation, food, medical care, communication with family

• A maximum continuous embarkation period of 11 months

The 2022 amendments to the MLC — which entered into force on 23 December 2024 — strengthened provisions on abandonment: member States must now facilitate the prompt repatriation of abandoned seafarers and cooperate to ensure their replacement in conditions compliant with the convention.

Its limit in a geopolitical context is clear: the MLC protects seafarers in their relationship with the shipowner. It cannot compel a belligerent State to allow vessels to pass. In the case of Hormuz, shipowner obligations remain fully intact — but their implementation runs into a military blockade the convention was never designed to resolve.

Concrete Obligations of the Shipowner

Even in force majeure situations, shipowners cannot evade their obligations to their crew.

On wages: stranded seafarers must continue to be paid. Forced vessel immobilisation is not a legal reason to suspend salary payments. Defaulting shipowners face legal proceedings and risk being placed on IMO databases as shipowners in breach.

On repatriation: as soon as conditions allow — or when the maximum embarkation period is reached — the shipowner must arrange and fund the crew’s return. Where this is genuinely impossible, all efforts must be documented.

On health and safety: food and medical supply, medical monitoring, maintenance of decent living conditions. In prolonged immobilisation situations, this becomes critical and directly engages the shipowner’s liability.

On documentation: every situation must be traceable. Embarkation durations, onboard conditions, repatriation attempts, crew communications. This traceability is essential in case of disputes or port state control inspections.

What Shipowners Can Prepare for in Advance

The Hormuz crisis is a wake-up call. It highlights a frequent blind spot in fleet management: the absence of contingency plans for crews operating in geopolitically sensitive zones. Practical preventive measures:

• Map high-risk zones in voyage planning — the IMO, BIMCO and classification societies publish regular security alerts

• Review crew contracts to include forced embarkation extension clauses and corresponding financial provisions

• Build financial reserves to meet wage obligations during prolonged commercial disruptions

• Define a clear onshore decision chain — the master onboard cannot manage everything alone

• Keep crew documentation up to date: identity, nationality, contract duration, embarkation dates, next-of-kin contacts

Digital Traceability: A Crisis Management Tool

In a situation like Hormuz, documentation becomes immediately operational. Shipowners whose crew data is scattered across Excel files or paper logs onboard struggle to answer basic questions: who is onboard? For how long? When does their contract expire? Has their family been contacted?

A centralised fleet management tool answers these questions in seconds from the office, in real time. The Hormuz crisis is not an anomaly — it is a signal. Geopolitical incidents affecting maritime transport are multiplying (Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb, Somali coast). Being prepared starts with knowing exactly where your seafarers are and what conditions they are in.

Key Takeaways

The 20,000 seafarers trapped in the Strait of Hormuz have no universal legal status that protects them. They depend primarily on their shipowners — on their financial reliability, internal organisation and the rigour with which they implement the MLC 2006.

This crisis poses a direct question to technical directors and fleet managers: if your vessels were stranded in a tension zone tomorrow, would you have the tools to fulfil your obligations to your crew?

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