Iran's publication of a new map asserting its control over the Strait of Hormuz risks extending an already punishing ordeal for thousands of mariners trapped on ships in the Gulf.More than 20,000
Iran's publication of a new map asserting its control over the Strait of Hormuz risks extending an already punishing ordeal for thousands of mariners trapped on ships in the Gulf.
More than 20,000 sailors are stuck on around 2,000 vessels in the Gulf, many of them unable to leave ship, lacking adequate supplies of food and fresh water, and fearful of an uncertain future at sea in a war zone.
Sailors interviewed by Reuters in recent weeks have described the hardships and anxieties of their experience, and a federation representing them warns of dire conditions.
"The only thing we do here is plan how to spend the night and pray to God that we do not get hit during an attack," Indian sailor Salman Siddiqui said by phone from his stranded ship last month.
ISOLATED LIVES
When Reuters travelled on a resupply boat to vessels moored off the Saudi coast this week, sailors on a tanker gathered by the handrail to wave, a rare moment of contact with the outside world.
For nearly three months, the sailors trapped in the Gulf have led isolated lives, each with a small group of shipmates, moving between tiny living quarters, communal
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