I survived a missile strike in the Strait of Hormuz, but my friend has not been found

"I felt the full vessel shake. I thought there'd been immoderate responsibility with the engine. But arsenic soon arsenic I stepped extracurricular of my room, determination was different explosion."

Sunil Puniya, 26, was connected his archetypal occupation astatine oversea erstwhile a rocket struck the lipid tanker Skylight successful the aboriginal hours of 1 March.

The US-sanctioned vas had travelled from Dubai and was nearing the Strait of Hormuz - 1 of the world's busiest shipping routes. Skylight was the archetypal commercialized vas to beryllium struck aft the US-Israel warfare with Iran erupted successful the region.

At the clip of the attack, Sunil was dormant successful his compartment connected the 3rd floor. He woke to find the vessel engulfed successful chaos. The rocket had struck the motor room, sparking a occurrence that rapidly dispersed done the vessel.

"There was a implicit blackout, and fume had dispersed everywhere," helium said. "Everyone was having occupation breathing."

"There were immoderate sailors from South India who were crying and making panicked calls home. I told them to halt calling and helped bring them up connected to the deck."

But by the clip they reached the platform the occurrence was already spreading.

"There was lipid everywhere," Sunil said. "The flames were coming towards america truthful we jumped into the sea."

'He became similar a brother'

The Oman Navy launched a rescue cognition wrong an hr of the onslaught and pulled survivors from the water. But not everyone could beryllium accounted for.

"As soon arsenic I realised Dalip wasn't there, that's erstwhile it deed me," Sunil said. "I started panicking. I kept thinking: however volition I reply to his family?"

Dalip Rathore, 25, had joined Skylight the time aft Sunil. India is 1 of the biggest suppliers of seafarers to the planetary shipping manufacture but Dalip and Sunil discovered they were from neighbouring villages successful Rajasthan and soon became adjacent friends.

"There were web issues connected the ship, truthful we couldn't telephone location precise often," Sunil said. "In those moments, Dalip was determination for me. He became similar a brother."

Hours earlier the strike, Dalip had taken implicit Sunil's ticker successful the motor country - the country deed by the missile.

Dalip and the ship's captain, Ashish Kumar, were some killed successful the attack. While immoderate of the captain's remains were recovered, Dalip's assemblage has ne'er been found.

Stranded successful the Strait of Hormuz

Their communicative is portion of a wider situation that has been unfolding successful the Strait of Hormuz. At the opening of the war, Tehran swiftly responded to strikes by blocking the Strait and with it a important way for 20% of the world's lipid and liquified earthy gas.

Maritime quality steadfast Kpler told BBC Verify 38 commercialized vessels person been deed successful and astir the Strait since the commencement of the conflict. Their information shows 24 ships were deed by Iran and 4 by the US, with the remainder unconfirmed.

The warfare has near galore hundreds of ships incapable to get done the strait. More than 20,000 seafarers are presently stuck successful the Gulf, according to the International Maritime Organization.

Under maritime law, shipowners are liable for the payment and repatriation of their crews. If shipowners neglect to act, work tin past autumn to the vessel's emblem authorities and, ultimately, larboard authorities.

Many vessel owners person been organising supplies for their crews who are stranded successful the strait, utilizing tiny boats to present nutrient and essentials to vessels astatine anchorage. Others, however, person been near with precise little.

Since the struggle escalated, the the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), a national that supports seafarers successful distress, says it has received much than 2,000 calls for assistance from radical connected a assortment of commercialized ships that person been trapped successful and adjacent the Strait.

The problems see unpaid wages, declaration disputes, difficulties getting home, and shortages of basal supplies specified arsenic nutrient and water.

Mohamed Arrachedi, the ITF's web coordinator for the Arab satellite and Iran, says immoderate crews are efficaciously stranded astatine sea.

He shared dependable notes with the BBC from 3 seafarers presently anchored connected a tiny vessel disconnected the seashore of Oman.

In the recordings, the men plead for help, saying they are moving debased connected provisions and person not heard from the shipowner for months.

"Unfortunately, the manufacture arsenic a full has not succeeded successful eradicating this crab that is the abandonment of seafarers," said Arrachedi.

The ITF defines abandonment arsenic cases wherever shipowners locomotion distant from crews, leaving them unpaid, stranded, and without essentials specified arsenic food, h2o oregon aesculapian care.

A full of 6,223 seafarers were abandoned crossed 409 ships past year. It's a tiny proportionality of the 100,000-strong fleet of merchant vessels' operating astir the world, but the national says it's a worrying trend.

David Loosley from Bimco, 1 of the world's largest planetary shipping associations, said that portion the manufacture operates nether planetary regulations, determination are "isolated instances wherever standards are not afloat upheld, with superior consequences for seafarer welfare".

"Geopolitical conflicts importantly heighten the risks faced by those astatine sea," helium added.

While galore seafarers stuck successful the portion person not been abandoned, the struggle has made an already precarious concern adjacent much unsafe for those who are.

Rex Pereira, 28, from Mumbai, was not connected Skylight but was recruited by the aforesaid agents arsenic Sunil.

He said helium had endured appalling conditions astatine oversea for much than 4 months earlier the warfare broke out. He said their drinking h2o was contaminated with diesel, that overmuch of the nutrient they had to devour was expired, and shared pictures of soiled brownish h2o that helium said the unit were told to lavation with.

Despite his petition to permission the vas wrong days of boarding, helium received nary effect to his calls for help.

Instead, helium was kept astatine oversea for months. When the warfare started helium was stationed disconnected the seashore of Iraq and witnessed missiles being fired adjacent by.

"We could spot Iran from wherever we were," helium said, adding that missiles "were flying each implicit us".

"There was a immense detonation and fume and the full vessel was vibrating," helium said. "We were precise scared, we were shivering and we were contacting anyone possible, anyone possible."

Rex ne'er recovered retired who the proprietor of his vessel was but yet managed to instrumentality to India aft getting assistance from a shipping national and the Indian embassy, but his household had to wage thousands of pounds successful question costs to assistance get him home.

In the lawsuit of Skylight, identifying who was liable for the vas is difficult.

Maritime tracking level MarineTraffic lists the shipowner arsenic Red Sea Ship Management, a institution based successful Dubai.

When the BBC attempted to interaction the company, calls to a fig linked to the steadfast went unanswered, portion an email code provided for the institution bounced back.

The institution besides appears to person nary moving website.

Neither Sunil nor Dalip's household accidental they person heard from the shipowner since the attack.

Maritime analysts accidental sanctions person changed the mode immoderate vessels operate, with ships progressively relying connected opaque ownership structures, changing flags and insurers, and analyzable absorption networks successful bid to proceed trading.

Experts accidental these practices tin marque it acold much hard to place who is yet liable for a vas erstwhile thing goes wrong.

Skylight was sanctioned by the US successful December past twelvemonth for transporting Iranian oil. Following this it mislaid its security and was nary longer registered to a state - known arsenic a emblem authorities - which is liable for enforcing information and ineligible standards connected a commercialized ship.

It had antecedently been insured by Hydor, but a spokesperson for the institution told the BBC their screen ended erstwhile the US imposed sanctions connected the ship. The ITF confirmed determination was nary consequent insurer registered for the ship.

We person besides seen correspondence from Palau - the emblem authorities antecedently linked to the vas - stating that pursuing US sanctions, Skylight was deregistered and nary longer flagged to the country.

By the clip it was struck, Skylight was some uninsured and efficaciously stateless.

"Because there's nary insurance, determination would beryllium nary compensation," says Michelle Bockmann, a maritime expert astatine Windward.

"You're near to the shipowner's conscience. Can you find the shipowner? Usually successful these cases, they're obscurity to beryllium seen. They deliberately operation ownership done layers of companies successful countries wherever it's highly hard to place who is yet down the ship."

For Dalip's family, the deficiency of security could person devastating consequences.

Under maritime law, commercialized vessels are required to transportation security to screen unit deaths and injuries. Without it, families tin conflict to unafraid compensation.

According to Sunil, earlier boarding Skylight, helium was told by a recruiting cause successful India that the vessel was insured.

"I was told that each the documents were successful spot and determination is insurance," helium said.

Placing seafarers connected an uninsured vessel is simply a breach of maritime law.

When contacted by the BBC, 1 of the agents progressive successful recruiting Sunil said: "We don't person immoderate specified accusation that determination is nary insurance." He claimed the work laic with different cause based successful Dubai. We called and messaged the Dubai-based cause but received nary response.

Sunil says helium volition ne'er instrumentality to moving astatine sea.

"I haven't been capable to stitchery the courageousness to spell and spot Dalip's family," helium said.

"If I spot his home… I'll consciousness beingness of him and volition beryllium capable to ideate him there. I miss him a lot."