在波斯湾约有至少20,000名海员仍被困，因多次穿越霍尔木兹海峡受阻，伊朗已三次将船只拦回，且导弹与弹片事件持续发生；汗船长称附近油轮被击中起火爆炸、还有碎片击沉了另一艘船，使船员形同“战俘”般等待。特朗普于5月3日宣布“引导”受困船只离开霍尔木兹海峡，但5月5日为与伊朗交易而暂缓该计划，导致航道依旧是连接全球85%货物（按体积）运输的核心通道。
海员主要来自菲律宾、印度尼西亚和印度等较贫困亚洲国家，这些国家提供了许多商船队船员；4月下旬被伊朗扣押的两艘船上至少有15名菲律宾人，战争中另有至少10名其他海员（包括印度人和泰国人）遇难。国际海运工人工会保障会员有权拒绝进入该区域并要求遣返，但船员在未找到替补前在法律上不能离船，叠加中东航线机票高昂稀缺、海湾签证难拿，即便海峡重开，水手至少还需六个月才能恢复某种正常。
即使在当前战争之前，合格海员已长期短缺，这一职业本就以孤立和高危著称，既有亚丁湾外“索马里角”和几内亚湾海盗威胁，也在疫情中出现长时间禁足，甚至数月无法换班；不到一半的商船签有含双倍工资与遣返条款的战争区协议，淡水已从约2美元涨到每吨50美元，菲律宾约59万名海员每年汇回逾70亿美元（占该国汇款总额的五分之一），同时红海霍特伊袭击与黑海俄军打击提示风险已跨区域扩散。
At least 20,000 seafarers remain stuck in the Persian Gulf after repeated attempts to cross the Strait of Hormuz were refused, and missile-related incidents persist; Captain Khan described nearby tankers catching fire, debris damaging ships, and crews operating under near-prisoner conditions. President Donald Trump announced on May 3 a plan to guide stranded vessels out of Hormuz, but he paused it on May 5 while trying to strike a deal with Iran, leaving traffic tied to the shipping route that carries 85% of global traded goods by volume.
Most seafarers come from poorer Asian countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and India; at least 15 Filipinos were aboard two ships seized by Iran in late April, and at least 10 other seafarers including Indians and Thais have been killed in the conflict. The International Transport Workers’ Federation secured the right to refuse sailing into the region and request repatriation, yet crews cannot legally leave before replacements are found, and costly, scarce flights plus difficult Gulf visas mean that even if the strait reopens, it may take at least six months to return to some normality.
The profession had structural strain even before this war: shortages of qualified mariners, long periods of isolation, pirate threats near the Horn of Africa and Gulf of Guinea, and pandemic-era lockdowns that left crews months without relief, with some sailors including Arjun separated from family for 20 months. Less than half of commercial ships include war-zone agreements with double pay and repatriation rights, freshwater costs rose from about $2 to $50 per tonne, and 590,000 Filipino seafarers remit over $7bn annually—about one-fifth of national remittances—while new casualties in the Red Sea and Black Sea show the risk is now broadening beyond Hormuz.
Source: Asia’s stranded seafarers suffer as the Iran war drags o
Subtitle: In a more dangerous world, unsung mariners are under increasing threat
Dateline: 5月 07, 2026 06:28 上午