Tanker captains offered up to $150,000 per Hormuz Strait voyage — RMF24
Tanker captains transiting the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has almost completely blocked since the start of the war with the United States and Israel, are being offered up to $150,000 for a single voyage. As RMF24 reports, this amount consists of $100,000 in base pay and a $50,000 bonus.
Compensation for dangerous voyages
According to Al Jazeera, other crew members of merchant vessels, who mostly come from India, the Philippines and China, are being offered pay four to six times higher than before the start of the war in the Middle East. The Wall Street Journal writes that a recruitment agency in China’s Shandong province is offering sailors $25,000 for a round-trip voyage. For lower-ranking crew members, this exceeds their annual earnings.
Shipping industry representatives interviewed by Bloomberg estimate the probability of a vessel being hit by a missile or drone during a voyage at one in 20, or 5%. RMF24 also notes that the number of Iranian attacks on tankers has reached its highest level since the start of the war. The British organization UKMTO, which monitors maritime security, reported casualties from a missile attack on a vessel near Qatar’s northern coast.
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Costs and vessel traffic
According to The Wall Street Journal, shipowners spend $30 million to $40 million on one round-trip voyage to transport oil in the Strait of Hormuz area. Last week, monitoring systems recorded only seven vessels there — the lowest figure since July.
To avoid attacks, crews switch off AIS transponders, lights and mobile phones. Bloomberg reports that vessels move in darkness, using a single radar, lighthouse lights and observation of the coast, while decks are protected with sandbags.
