Indian Captain Recalls Harrowing 45 Days Spent On His Ship Stuck In Hormuz Strait
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An Indian Ship Captain, named Manish Kumar, finally returned home after spending 45 days stranded in the Strait of Hormuz.
He has described the difficult days and the dangers the crew on his ship faced.
Kumar, who has more than 25 years of experience at sea, was commanding an oil tanker which was carrying 40,000 tonnes of oil from Iraq’s Port of Khor Al Zubair to South Korea.
Conflict erupted on Feb 28, 2026, when his ship had sailed 10 km into the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for transporting a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
Sensing the danger, Kumar had purchased additional food supplies before his vessel departed, enabling him and his 40 Indian crew members to survive the extra one and a half months they had to spend stranded in the waterway.
He described the plight of everyone on the tanker while speaking to local media.
Kumar said that the biggest fear was an air strike hitting their tanker, as it would immediately cause a fire which could spread to other stranded ships within a 50-km range.
A 1997 graduate of the Indian Maritime University, Chennai. Manish also recalled the nights they spent sleepless when the ship’s GPS systems failed and internet connectivity also collapsed, warnings of underwater mines and threats of attacks circulated.
The ship crew heard drones attacking vessels nearby, and everyone feared for their lives.
Amidst the uncertainty, everyone prayed to be united with their families back home, Manish added.
Since communication networks and internet services are affected in the region, they could not even make a quick call to their families or even company officials.
To avoid detection, they made sure to turn off the ship’s lights as the sun set.
As GPS was also disrupted, they did not know the exact position of their ship, which raised fears of grounding or striking hidden underwater mines.
Back home, the family members of the captain and crew tried to call them throughout the day; however, the call could not be connected.
Relief came after a ceasefire was announced on April 7, after which Manish returned home to his family in India on April 16, 2026.
The Indian Government is conducting missions to escort stranded Indian ships from the Persian Gulf along with Indian seafarers.
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