[Edaily Reporter Bang Sung Hoon ] As Iran’s attacks on ships intensify, the “ransom” paid to captains of oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz is skyrocketing. When bonuses are added to their base pay, they earn over 200 million won per month just for passing through the strait once. However, since the voyage puts their lives at risk, some sailors are reluctant to sign on, and controversy is mounting as these sailors are facing pressure to resign. Since the outbreak of hostilities in late February, at least 93 ships have been attacked, and 24 sailors have lost their lives.

According to a report by the Financial Times (FT) on the 6th (local time), citing multiple sources, captains of oil tankers traveling through the Strait of Hormuz are receiving a monthly salary equivalent to $100,000 (approximately 134 million won), plus a separate bonus of $50,000 (approximately 67 million won) for each passage through the strait. This is nearly seven times their usual monthly salary of about $15,000 (approximately 20.1 million won). In the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman, sailors’ wages have also doubled compared to normal levels. Even ordinary crew members, whose regular monthly wages start as low as $1,500 (approximately 2.01 million won), receive at least four to six times that amount when passing through the strait. This is a hazard allowance paid by shipowners to keep crew members on board.

Transit through the strait is handled by dedicated oil tankers operated by a small number of companies, including South Korea’s Janggeum Shipping (Sinoco), Greece’s Dynacom, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) state-owned oil company ADNOC, and the Kuwait Tanker Company. This involves “shuttle operations,” in which crude oil is loaded within the Gulf and transferred to other tankers waiting off the coast of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman; a single round trip takes about four days. A single very large crude carrier (VLCC), which carries approximately 2 million barrels of crude oil, carries up to 35 crew members, including the captain.

The crew members are exposed to Iranian missile and drone attacks for months on end. Most of them traverse the strait at night with their Global Positioning System (GPS) signals turned off, while the U.S. Navy provides air defense cover by deploying assets along the route near the Omani coast. One source reported that these crew members are “viewed almost as mercenaries” within the seafaring community.

According to the maritime security firm Vanguard, at least 14 attacks have occurred since the 20th of last month, and four ships have been struck since the 3rd alone. This marks one of the periods with the highest concentration of attacks since the war began. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has tallied at least 93 ships struck and 24 crew members killed since February 28. According to data from shipping analytics firm Windward, approximately 2% of vessels passing through the Strait in the third quarter were attacked. On the 4th, 13 vessels transited the Strait, a significant drop from the 24 that passed through on the same day a week earlier.

Attacks have increased following reports that total crude oil exports from the Gulf region have nearly returned to pre-war levels. However, Kpler, a commodities data firm, reported that the volume of cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz remains about one-third lower than before the war. Before the war, approximately 135 ships per day carried about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply.

Shipowners are able to afford the high premiums because freight rates have also skyrocketed. As the risk of being unable to ship crude oil has increased, Gulf oil-producing countries are willing to pay the higher freight rates. Freight rates for transiting the Strait hit an all-time high this week of $1.3 million (approximately 1.742 billion won) per day. Last year, the rate ranged from $20,000 to $50,000 (approximately 26.8 million to 67 million won) per day.

Meanwhile, shipowners must also pay war risk insurance premiums amounting to 6–10% of a vessel’s value. For a very large crude carrier (VLCC), this could cost up to $20 million (approximately 26.8 billion won) per voyage. Fuel costs are also a burden. According to the price research firm Argus, the price of fuel oil for VLCCs in Fujairah—the refueling port closest to the Gulf—rose to $686 per metric ton (approximately 919,000 won) the previous day, a 67% increase from a year ago.

Scott Berger, CEO of Oldendorf Carriers, said at a British shipping conference that day, “These ships and our seafarers are targets,” adding, “It’s a shameful situation, but this is the new reality.”

Most seafarers come from impoverished regions such as the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe, having taken to the seas lured by wages far higher than those in their home countries.

Manoj Yadav, General Secretary of the Indian Seafarers’ Union, said that some shipowners pressure seafarers by threatening to replace them if they refuse to board and to deduct repatriation costs from their wages. “Seafarers lose either way,” he said. “If they refuse, they lose their jobs; if they agree, they could lose their lives.”