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Hong Kong Shipowners Association: 1,600 Crew Stranded in Strait of Hormuz Remain Safe

The Hong Kong Shipowners Association says roughly 1,600 crew members aboard about 80 Hong Kong-owned vessels have been stranded in the Strait of Hormuz for five months amid the standoff over the waterway. Deputy chairman Kenneth Lam Sze-kin said the seafarers have adequate supplies and access to video counselling, with owners committed to paying for their upkeep. The stranding highlights the toll of the prolonged Hormuz crisis on Asian shipping firms.

A cargo ship anchored on a grey, overcast sea, evoking a tense maritime standoff.
A cargo ship anchored on a grey, overcast sea, evoking a tense maritime standoff.Photo: Ibbre Sharif / Pexels
South China Morning Post10 d agoBZ=F
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The Hong Kong Shipowners Association said on Wednesday that about 80 Hong Kong-owned ships and roughly 1,600 crew members have been stranded in the Strait of Hormuz for five months, as a diplomatic standoff over the strategic waterway continues to disrupt global shipping.

Deputy chairman Kenneth Lam Sze-kin said the seafarers face little immediate danger and have enough food, water and fuel to remain on board, along with access to video counselling to help cope with the prolonged confinement. He added that shipowners have committed to covering costs for as long as the vessels remain unable to pass through the strait.

The strait, a critical corridor for global oil shipments, has been effectively closed for months amid the wider standoff between Washington and Tehran. Hong Kong, one of the world's busiest shipping registries, has seen its owners and crews bear a direct share of the disruption, even as other Hong Kong-linked carriers such as the airline Cathay Pacific have benefited from rerouted travel demand.

GeopoliticsEnergyTradeBZ=FAsiaSouth China Morning Post
Source: South China Morning Post
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This article is an AI-curated summary of the original story published by South China Morning Post. The illustration is a stock photo by Ibbre Sharif from Pexels and is not from the original story.

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