Sinokor Group has offered seafarers six months’ additional salary for completing a tanker voyage through the Strait of Hormuz amid attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Persian Gulf.
The proposed round trip would involve loading oil in Saudi Arabia or Iraq and discharging the cargo in the Gulf of Oman, according to a document distributed to crew members late last week and reviewed by Bloomberg. The voyage is expected to take about one month.
The proposal followed attacks last week that killed at least two seafarers. It was circulated before further attacks on merchant shipping were reported on Monday, when another vessel was abandoned.
At least 59 commercial vessels have been attacked in and around the Persian Gulf since the conflict began at the end of February. Seventeen seafarers have died, according to the International Maritime Organization.
Pay varies significantly by rank. A tanker captain can earn as much as $15,000 per month, while a junior rating may receive about $1,500 per month under normal conditions, according to officials at shipping companies.
A junior rating may ask to leave a vessel and be replaced rather than sail into the danger zone, an official at one shipowner said.
Other companies are also offering additional compensation for voyages through the strait. Two people involved in securing crews said the payments were generally lower than the package proposed by Sinokor Group. Some shipping companies were adding as much as 60 days’ salary to a 30-day contract.
Captain Pradeep Chawla, chairman of GlobalMET, said some companies were offering substantial bonuses. He also said replacement personnel could still be found despite reports of crew members leaving vessels. His comments did not refer specifically to the Sinokor Group proposal.
Shipowners can earn millions of dollars from voyages through the Strait of Hormuz, while insurers are charging high premiums for transits. Crew members remain directly exposed to the security risks during each voyage.
Sinokor Group has become the world’s largest owner of supertankers with backing from MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. The company has played a significant role in moving oil from the United Arab Emirates, as well as Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Visible traffic through the strait has declined in recent days, although the total number of vessels using the route remains uncertain because some ships may be transiting with their AIS signals switched off.
Sinokor Group did not respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.
