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UN Human Rights Spokesperson Shabia Mantoo remarks on stranded Hormuz seafarers abandoned for months at sea
“UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk calls for urgent action to remedy the plight of thousands of stranded seafarers who are facing a dire humanitarian and human rights crisis in the Strait of Hormuz,” the UN Human Rights spokesperson said.
Adding that “at least 6,000 seafarers on some 400 vessels remain stranded in and around the Strait, having been unable to evacuate during the ceasefire. This is according to information from the International Maritime Organization.” This number is not exhaustive as many others are unaccounted for, believed to be stuck in the Persian Gulf on a range of smaller vessels or have otherwise not been located.
“Our Office has also obtained information that some seafarers have been abandoned at sea by shipowners who have left them without support, repatriation and even their owed wages,” she said.
The UN Human Rights Office has also obtained information that some seafarers have been abandoned at sea by shipowners who have left them without support, repatriation and even their owed wages. The UN Human Rights Office is aware of at least nine ships, with 93 crew members, abandoned by their owners in the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war.
“The seafarers have been left on their ships to fend for themselves without food, water, fuel, medical care, electricity or means to communicate with their families. They face prolonged isolation and confinement in a conflict zone, with uncertainty about their safety and disembarkation – risking a severe toll on their mental and physical well-being,” Mantoo said.
“Seafarers remain exposed to hostilities as deadly attacks on the Strait - facing imminent risks of death or harm. Two Indian seafarers were killed in recent weeks in the Strait. And last month other seafarers were killed in an attack on an oil tanker. This brings the total number of reported seafarer deaths to 17 since the start of the conflict,” the spokesperson said.
“Attacks against civilian vessels are unacceptable and must stop. They are protected under international humanitarian law,” she stated.
“The High Commissioner calls on States, shipowners and all relevant actors to urgently ensure the protection of stranded seafarers including through ensuring effective access to consular assistance, essential supplies and services - and by facilitating evacuations and repatriations,” she said.
The spokesperson called for the parties to the conflict to urgently work to facilitate safe passage for stranded seafarers to safely evacuate and disembark, as well as ensure the delivery of critical supplies.
“Seafarers have the right to freely coose or accept work, including decisions on whether to sail or continue sailing in high-risk areas. Flag States and shipowners should also uphold their labour rights, including through the continued payment of wages,” she added.
The dignity, safety and well-being of seafarers must remain at the core of policies, industry practices and international cooperation, in accordance with the Manila Declaration - a landmark global call to action issued last year.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Geneva
Shabia Mantoo - shabia.mantoo@un.org
Ravina Shamdasani - ravina.shamdasani@un.org
Jeremy Laurence - jeremy.laurence@un.org
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STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Shabia Mantoo remarks on stranded Strait of Hormuz seafarers abandoned for months at sea
TRT: 02:31
SOURCE: OHCHR / UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 24 July 2026 – Geneva, Switzerland
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shots: Various Palais des Nations
- Interior shots: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson: “UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk calls for urgent action to remedy the plight of thousands of stranded seafarers who are facing a dire humanitarian and human rights crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.”
- Interior shots: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson: “At least 6,000 seafarers on some 400 vessels remain stranded in and around the Strait, having been unable to evacuate during the ceasefire. This is according to information from the International Maritime Organization.”
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson: “Our Office has also obtained information that some seafarers have been abandoned at sea by shipowners who have left them without support, repatriation and even their owed wages.”
- Interior shots: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson: “The seafarers have been left on their ships to fend for themselves without food, water, fuel, medical care, electricity or means to communicate with their families. They face prolonged isolation and confinement in a conflict zone, with uncertainty about their safety and disembarkation – risking a severe toll on their mental and physical well-being.”
- Interior shots: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson: “Seafarers remain exposed to hostilities as deadly attacks on the Strait - facing imminent risks of death or harm. Two Indian seafarers were killed in recent weeks in the Strait. And last month other seafarers were killed in an attack on an oil tanker. This brings the total number of reported seafarer deaths to 17 since the start of the conflict.”
- Interior shots: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson: “Attacks against civilian vessels are unacceptable and must stop. They are protected under international humanitarian law.”
- Interior shots: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson: “The High Commissioner calls on States, shipowners and all relevant actors to urgently ensure the protection of stranded seafarers including through ensuring effective access to consular assistance, essential supplies and services - and by facilitating evacuations and repatriations.”
- Interior shots: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson: “Seafarers have the right to freely choose or accept work, including decisions on whether to sail or continue sailing in high-risk areas. Flag States and shipowners should also uphold their labour rights, including through the continued payment of wages.”
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New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
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Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
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Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
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The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
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