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Sixteen seafarers abandoned in Hodeidah Port, with eight trapped on board the Captain Tarek.
Sixteen seafarers from Syria and India are stranded in the city of Hodeidah, Yemen, which came under attack from Israeli airstrikes over the weekend.
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has already supported eight Syrian seafarers in disembarking and finding refuge in a hotel. It is now working to ensure the eight seafarers who remain trapped on the ship – the ‘Captain Tarek’ – can also disembark and be repatriated to India.
ITF Flags of Convenience Network Coordinator for the Arab World and Iran, Mohamed Arrachedi, 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 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. 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 flag state of the ship is unknown at present, although it has previously been reported as flagged to Comoros and Egypt.
Airstrikes, reported to have killed three people and injured more than 80 others, hit the city on Saturday 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 last Friday that killed at least one person and wounded at least eight others.
The seafarers took videos of the airstrikes – from which the picture used in this story is sourced – which have led to the closure of the port.
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. 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 on shore and some claimed to be missing and moved out of Yemen.
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About the ITF: The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is a democratic, affiliate-led federation of transport workers’ unions recognised as the world’s leading transport authority. We fight passionately to improve working lives; connecting trade unions and workers’ networks from 147 countries to secure rights, equality and justice for their members. We are the voice of the almost-20 million women and men who move the world.
Media contact: Mark Dearn +44 7738 832 413 media@itf.org.uk