Sinokor offers crews six months’ extra pay to sail through Strait of Hormuz

South Korea's Sinokor Group, the world's largest supertanker owner, has offered seafarers an additional six months of salary on top of their base pay for a single round-trip voyage through the Strait of Hormuz to load crude oil from Saudi Arabia or Iraq, according to Bloomberg. The offer, distributed to crews late last week, underscores the extreme danger facing mariners in the contested waterway as hostilities between the United States and Iran continue to disrupt one of the world's most critical shipping corridors.news.bloomberglaw

A Stark Choice

The voyage, which Sinokor estimated would take about a month, would require crews to transit the strait, unload cargo in the Gulf of Oman, and return. For a captain earning up to $15,000 a month, the bonus would amount to roughly $90,000 on top of normal compensation. Even junior sailors earning about $1,500 a month would receive an equivalent six-month bonus.briefs+2

The offer comes as the security situation in the strait has deteriorated sharply. An interim truce between the U.S. and Iran collapsed in early July after Iran struck multiple commercial ships. The International Maritime Organization has urged vessels to avoid the waterway "as long as the safety and security of crews cannot be assured".axios+3

Mounting Toll

Since the conflict began on February 28, at least 17 seafarers have been killed and 10 injured in attacks on commercial shipping in and around the strait. The IMO had verified 46 attacks through June 10, with that number continuing to climb as hostilities resumed in July.news.un+3

War-risk insurance premiums have surged from roughly 0.25% of hull value before the crisis to between 3% and 10%, according to Marsh. For a $100 million supertanker, that translates to a premium of $3 million to $10 million per voyage.thenationalnews+1

Sinokor's Calculated Bet

Sinokor has emerged as one of the crisis's biggest commercial winners. The company controls approximately 150 very large crude carriers, roughly 40% of unsanctioned supertankers available for hire globally. In June, Sinokor was among the first to send tankers back into the strait after a short-lived ceasefire.sedaily+2

Mediterranean Shipping Company, the world's largest container carrier, is in the process of acquiring a 50% stake in Sinokor's tanker arm, pending regulatory approval. The combined fleet would represent an unprecedented concentration of control over global crude oil transport at a moment when few competitors are willing to accept the risks of Persian Gulf voyages.gosships+1