▲ The Thai-flagged cargo ship 'Mayuri Nari' that came under an Iranian missile attack in the Strait of Hormuz
As desperate efforts continue to transport crude oil out of the Strait of Hormuz despite relentless attacks by Iran, hazard pay and other compensation for oil tanker crew members are soaring, according to the British daily Financial Times (FT).
According to industry insiders, shipowners are offering massive amounts of "hazard pay" to keep crews working in the dangerous waters.
Amid intensified Iranian attacks, oil tanker captains receive a monthly salary of $100,000 (approx. 130 million won) for passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Separately, a bonus of $50,000 (approx. 70 million won) is paid for each transit through the strait.
A typical tanker captain's monthly salary is generally known to be around $15,000 (approx. 20 million won).
Even excluding the bonus, the monthly salary alone is more than six times the usual level.
The monthly wages of regular crew members deployed to sail through the Strait of Hormuz have also risen sharply.
Regular crew salaries start at $1,500 (approx. 2 million won).
However, boarding an oil tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz multiplies their monthly pay by at least four to six times.
Tankers carrying about 2 million barrels of oil accommodate up to 35 crew members.
Currently, oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz are exposed to Iranian attacks, repeatedly shuttling back and forth across the shortest and most dangerous section of the strait to move crude oil from inside the Persian Gulf to the outside—so-called "shuttle tankers."
Consequently, crew members working on these vessels can earn higher-than-usual wages over several months.
Crude oil that breaks through Iran's blockades and exits the Persian Gulf is traded at high prices.
As a result, high operating costs for these shuttle tankers, such as massive increases in crew pay and allowances, are not seen as a major issue.
Furthermore, for Gulf oil-producing countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, alternative options like pipelines have limitations, leaving them with no choice but to continue crude oil exports—which are essentially their economic lifeline—through the Strait of Hormuz.
As the shipping system from before the outbreak of the war collapsed, oil-producing nations like the UAE and Saudi Arabia are urgently running large-scale, directly operated fleets of "shuttle tankers."
This method involves directly crossing only the dangerous Strait of Hormuz section using "commando"-style shuttle tankers to deliver cargo to customers.
Conversely, Iran, which regards securing control over the Strait of Hormuz as leverage in negotiations with the United States, is fiercely targeting these shuttle tankers.
Therefore, industry insiders sometimes compare these crew members to "mercenaries" who have jumped into the middle of a war to make money.
An industry source told the FT that among crew members, those who take on voyages through the Strait of Hormuz are viewed much like mercenaries.
Recently, news has emerged sequentially that Persian Gulf oil producers' crude oil export volumes have recovered close to pre-war levels.
In response, Iran's attacks on shuttle tankers appear to be intensifying out of concern that its leverage against the U.S. will weaken.
According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a total of 93 vessels have been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz region since the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war on February 28.
As a result, 24 crew members have lost their lives.
Data from shipping analytics firm Windward shows that about 2% of vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz in the third quarter were attacked.
Many tanker crew members have boarded ships sailing the Strait of Hormuz despite these dangers due to the high financial compensation.
Many of them come from relatively impoverished regions such as the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Russia, and Ukraine.
In their home countries, it is difficult to earn as much money as can be made on tankers operating in the Strait of Hormuz.
However, it has also been reported that in some cases, crew members are pressured into participating in dangerous Strait of Hormuz voyages against their will.
Manoj Yadav, general secretary of the National Union of Seafarers of India, told the FT, "In some cases, shipowners tell crew members who refuse [to sail through the Strait of Hormuz] that even their repatriation costs will be deducted from their wages, coercing unwilling crew members into making the voyage," adding, "Seafarers could lose their jobs if they disagree, and their lives if they agree."
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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