Brave Men for Great Rewards! With Risk Soaring in the Strait of Hormuz, Shipping Companies Offer Huge Bonuses to Attract Crew to Pass Through

The Strait of Hormuz has become one of the world's most dangerous shipping lanes, and shipping companies are trying to compensate for this risk gap with monetary incentives.

According to Bloomberg, international shipping companies, including Sinokor Group, the world's largest supertanker owner, are offering high bonuses to crew members willing to cross the Strait of Hormuz. Since the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran conflict, at least 59 merchant vessels have been attacked in the Persian Gulf and surrounding waters, resulting in 17 crew deaths. Shipping insurance premiums and crew bonuses have both soared, but a large number of crew members still prefer to give up the extra pay rather than risk the passage.

The latest shipping data from Kpler shows that between July 17 and July 19, only 30 verified vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz, with passage volumes remaining severely suppressed. Meanwhile, according to Reuters, shipping companies are actively avoiding the U.S.-dominated corridor along the coast of Oman, fearing Iranian attacks. The situation has further heightened market concerns over the security of global energy transportation.

Sinokor Offers Six-Month Salary Bonus

According to a document obtained by Bloomberg, Sinokor Group is offering crew members a bonus equivalent to six months' additional salary, provided they complete a round trip loading crude oil in Saudi Arabia or Iraq and discharging in the Gulf of Oman. The company estimates the whole journey takes about a month.

Under this scheme, a captain can receive a bonus of approximately $15,000, while the monthly salary of an ordinary crew member is only about $1,500. Notably, Sinokor charges external charter rates as high as $500,000 per day, and the huge gap between crew bonuses and shipowner profits has garnered public attention.

Captain Pradeep Chawla, chairman of global seafarer training institution GlobalMET, which collaborates with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), stated, "Some companies are offering crew members huge bonuses," adding, "We've heard that a significant number of crew members are choosing to disembark and resign, but companies are still able to find people willing to go."

Frequent Attacks Spur Legal Action by Crew Members

The deteriorating security situation within the strait has already triggered a chain reaction on the legal front.

In early July this year, three Thai crew members filed lawsuits against their former employer Precious Shipping, two related companies, and the involved captain, alleging they had been put in harm's way and were dismissed before completing their nine-month contracts. Earlier, in March this year, a projectile hit their cargo ship, killing three crew members.

According to data from the United Nations shipping agency, since the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran conflict, at least 59 merchant ships have been attacked in the Persian Gulf and surrounding waters, resulting in 17 crew deaths. The frequent attacks on merchant ships have directly led to a sharp drop in shipping volumes through the Strait of Hormuz, with transportation costs consequently soaring.

Effectiveness of U.S.-Led Transit Plan in Question

According to Reuters, shipping companies are deliberately avoiding the U.S.-led transit corridor established along Oman's coastline, as under the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), ships bypassing Iran's designated route have been attacked multiple times.

An industry insider said the U.S. side appears to have lost control of the current situation. Verisk Maplecroft risk consultancy analyst Torbjorn Solvedt warned that Iran retains the capacity to target vessels on the Oman corridor, making it difficult for the Trump administration's plan to ensure passage through the strait to succeed.

The current situation indicates that in the absence of a substantial easing of geopolitical risks, relying solely on economic incentives to maintain shipping order in the Strait of Hormuz offers extremely limited effectiveness, and the pressure on the global energy supply chain is unlikely to dissipate in the short term.