Updated

Reporting published on 11 August 2026 described how seafarers from the Philippines, who make up a large share of the world's merchant crews, continue to compete for jobs on vessels transiting high-risk waters including the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea. Crew members interviewed said shipping remains the "only job I know," citing economic necessity and family obligations that outweigh the dangers created by the US-Iran conflict. The strait has become a focal point of the war, with mine-clearing operations, naval escorts and elevated insurance costs shaping traffic through the waterway. The account highlights the human cost borne by commercial crews caught between wartime hazards and the labor markets that supply the global shipping industry.