Sixteen seafarers from Syria and India are stranded in the city of Hodeidah, Yemen, which came under attack from Israeli airstrikes over the weekend.
Airstrikes, reported to have killed three people and injured more than 80 others, hit the city on 20 July, as Israel targeted a refinery and electricity infrastructure in Hodeidah.
The strikes are reported to be in retaliation for a Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv on 19 July that killed one person and wounded at least eight others.
Eight seafarers remain trapped on the ship, the 7,900-dwt Captain Tarek (built 1994), according to the International Transport Workers’ Federation, which is working to ensure they disembark and are repatriated to India.
The ITF has already supported eight Syrian seafarers in disembarking and finding refuge in a hotel.
Mohamed Arrachedi, ITF Flags of Convenience network coordinator for the Arab World and Iran, said: “These seafarers are facing a truly horrific situation as they and their families fear for their lives after being shamelessly abandoned in a war zone.”
“We have been in contact with all the seafarers throughout this situation. They witnessed the airstrikes first-hand and are understandably traumatised and desperate to return home to be reunited with their families.”
The ship’s flag state is unknown at present, although it has previously been reported as flagged to Comoros and Egypt. Comoros is on the black list of worst-performing registries, in terms of detentions, by the Paris MoU.
The ship is owned and managed by GK Marine Overseas in Panama, according to shipping database Equasis.
“The ITF is doing all it can to support these seafarers, and we are currently evaluating what legal support we can offer to help the seafarers to recover their outstanding wages,” it said.
“We urgently call on the ship’s owners and all parties with interest in and obligations to the ship and the crew to do everything they can to get these seafarers back home.”
The crew of the hijacked Bahamas-flagged ship, the Galaxy Leader, is also still being held in Yemen.
The British-owned and Japanese-operated cargo ship was reported as hijacked by a Houthi-operated helicopter on 19 November 2023, with its crew of 17 Filipinos, three Ukrainians, two Bulgarians, two Mexicans and a Romanian held hostage since.
At present, it is believed that the Galaxy Leader crew will be held hostage in Yemen until Israel’s attacks on Gaza end, said the ITF.
“The majority of the crew are being held on the ship — from where they are permitted weekly calls to family and to move around on deck — with some held onshore and some claimed to be missing and moved out of Yemen,” it added.
