Heavy rewards create brave men! As risks surge in the Strait of Hormuz, shipping companies are offering large bonuses to attract crew to take the dangerous passage.

Heavy rewards create brave men! As risks surge in the Strait of Hormuz, shipping companies are offering large bonuses to attract crew to take the dangerous passage.

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The Strait of Hormuz has become one of the most dangerous shipping routes in the world, and shipping companies are trying to use financial incentives to compensate for this risk gap.

According to Bloomberg, international shipping companies, including Sinokor Group—the world’s largest super tanker owner—are offering substantial bonuses to crew members willing to cross the Strait of Hormuz. Since the outbreak of U.S.-Iran tensions, at least 59 commercial vessels have been attacked in the Persian Gulf and surrounding waters, resulting in 17 crew members killed. Both shipping insurance rates and crew bonuses have soared, yet many crew members would rather forgo extra compensation than risk passage.

Latest shipping data from Kpler show that between July 17 and 19, only 30 verified vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz, with traffic continuing to be heavily suppressed. Meanwhile, according to Reuters, shipping companies are actively avoiding the U.S.-led corridor along the coast of Oman, fearing Iranian strikes, further intensifying market concerns about the safety 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 of extra salary on the condition that they complete a round trip voyage loading crude oil in Saudi Arabia or Iraq, and unloading it in Oman Bay—a journey estimated by the company to take about one month.

Under this plan, captains can receive approximately $15,000 in bonuses, while ordinary crew members earn only about $1,500 per month. Notably, Sinokor’s chartering fees charged to clients amount to as much as $500,000 per day, drawing attention to the stark gap between crew bonuses and owner revenues.

Captain Pradeep Chawla, chairman of GlobalMET—the global seafarer training institution—which also collaborates with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), stated, “Some companies are offering very large bonuses to crew,” and noted, “We have heard many crew members are choosing to resign and leave, but companies are still able to find people willing to go.”

The worsening security situation in the Strait has triggered a chain reaction on the legal front.

In early July, three Thai crew members filed lawsuits against their former employer Precious Shipping, two associated companies, and the involved captain, accusing them of putting the crew in danger and dismissing them before the nine-month contract expired. Earlier, in March, a projectile struck their cargo ship, resulting in the deaths of three crew members.

Data from the UN shipping agency show that since the outbreak of U.S.-Iran tensions, at least 59 commercial ships in the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters have been attacked, with 17 crew members losing their lives. The frequent attacks on merchant ships have directly caused a sharp decline in traffic via the Strait of Hormuz and significantly increased transportation costs.

Effectiveness of U.S.-Led Passage Scheme in Doubt

According to Reuters, shipping companies are deliberately bypassing the U.S.-led Hormuz passage corridor along Oman’s coastline, with the reason being that under the Iran-U.S. memorandum of understanding (MoU), ships avoiding Iran-designated routes have been repeatedly attacked.

A shipping industry insider said the U.S. side seems to have lost control of the current situation. Risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft analyst Torbjorn Solvedt warned that Iran continues to possess the capacity to strike ships on the Oman route, making it difficult for the Trump administration’s plan to maintain passage through the Strait to succeed.

The current situation indicates that, with geopolitical risks not substantially alleviated, relying solely on economic incentives to maintain order in the Strait of Hormuz is highly limited, and the pressure facing the global energy supply chain is unlikely to dissipate in the short term.

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