20,000 Seafarers Stranded in Gulf Two Months After Iran Closes Strait of Hormuz Amid Regional Conflict

The seized crew members have been allowed to speak to their family through the internet. The Seafarers' Charity cites hypervigilance, burnout, fatigue, loneliness, depression and anxiety as some of the mental strains facing the stranded seafarers. Simon Grainge, chief executive of the International Seafarers' Welfare and Assistance Network, said most calls from trapped workers concerned repatriation rights and stress from being in a conflict zone without training or preparation.

Deborah Layde, chief executive of the Seafarers' Charity, noted that existing guidance on mental health and attacks was based around Somali piracy, which has been more under control since the early 2000s. She said one of the things that quite a few organisations are now calling for is really up-to-date guidance on how to deal with wartime issues.

"This isn't something that a lot of shipping companies are ready for," Layde added.

Some charities are working with shipping companies to strengthen support. Rachel Glynn-Williams, a psychologist working with seafarers, is involved in developing guidelines and a webinar. "There's this constant higher level of stress and hypervigilance without that ability to reset as they might normally do.

There's exhaustion," she said. Glynn-Williams added that at the point she picks up crew conversations, they will have been on hyper-alert for a sustained amount of time, so their nervous system will be heightened. She said it was going to take a little time, depending on the individual, for that nervous system to reset.

For some people it might be fairly soon afterwards, within a matter of days if not hours. For others it might take a little longer. Al-Monitor reported on the scale of the crisis on May 8.