Shipowners Offer Seafarers Massive Bonuses To Sail Through Risky Hormuz Waters

Sinokor Group, the biggest owner of supertankers in the world, is offering an additional 6 months’ salary to seafarers if they are willing to sail through the volatile Strait of Hormuz.

The company distributed the offer to its seafarers for a round trip to pick up oil from either Saudi Arabia or Iraq and unload it in the Gulf of Oman, which would take about a month in total.

The lucrative offer comes after 59 commercial vessels have been attacked in and around the Persian Gulf since the U.S-Iran war began on February 28, 2026.

More than 20 Seafarers lost their lives in the attacks, and many more have been critically injured,

The highest-paid individual on a ship is the captain, who has the final authority to make all the decisions. He or she can earn around $15,000 (€13,140) a month on oil tankers, and the pay can vary according to the company and the type of ship.

A junior sailor, or rating, might earn about $1,500 a month and have the right to ask to leave the ship and be replaced if they do not want to sail into a danger zone.

However, many crew members are reluctant to take these offers since they might lose their lives instead, as the situation in the region has escalated and ship attacks have become frequent.

Two seafarers died last week, 4 Indian seafarers died yesterday off Odesa, and a vessel was abandoned by the crew on Monday after catching fire due to a drone strike.

“They are being offered huge bonuses by some companies,” according to Captain Pradeep Chawla, chairman of GlobalMET, a body that works with the International Maritime Organisation to promote seafarer training and education, without specifically referencing the Sinokor offer.

“We have heard stories of a large number of crew members getting off, but they can find people who are willing to go.”

Sinokor wants to partner with regional producers to get their oil out of the region, especially the UAE, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.