A Lebanese seafarer caught in a double-whammy amid the West Asia war

According to Akkad Soubhi, the West Asian war was what the Americans called a double whammy. Mr. Akkad, chief engineer of a car carrier ship anchored off Khor Fakkan, is caught in the middle of a West Asian war. His family, thousands of miles away in Lebanon, also wakes up every day to missiles and bombs. They plan to move to Türkiye or Syria, fearing that civil war will break out.

Mr. Akkad has been stranded on his ship, which was carrying more than 1,000 cars, for more than a month; first off Fujairah and now off Khor Fakkan. As his ship was about to enter the Strait of Hormuz on March 2, they received a message that their destination, the port of Jebel Ali, had been attacked. And they decided to stay near Fujairah.

Unlike other sailors, Mr. Akkad’s hometown is also in trouble. Although he assures that he lives in Northern Lebanon, a predominantly Sunni population that has frequently fled Israeli attacks, he fears a civil war could break out again in the country. He cites the recent killing by drones of a Christian leader searching for a Hezbollah operative in central Lebanon. “Christians are now angry with the Shiites and may turn against them and the refugees,” he says, recalling the devastating civil war of the 1980s. “There are major conflicts every decade. We are used to it. But this time it may be different. Now everything is at the push of a button and it is very easy to wage war.”

He says the second officer on his ship was from South Lebanon. “Recently, his house was completely destroyed. I tried to console him that at least his family was safe,” he says.

search for shelter

Mr. Akkad says his mother will soon move to Türkiye. A month later, when his daughter’s university education ends, his wife and daughter will move there, too.

“We are planning to go to Syria. Although there are low-intensity problems there, the country is relatively more peaceful than Lebanon,” he adds.

A dance of death takes place every day in the Gulf of Oman. Mr. Akkad mentions that the missiles hit and destroyed another ship just a nautical mile away. It saw the port of Fujairah attacked and a large fuel tank hit. “We have been witnessing the fire for about a week.” Hundreds of merchant ships are stranded in the Gulf and unable to move up or down the Strait of Hormuz. It is estimated that there were approximately 30,000 sailors on these ships. Long anchorages often mean that ship crews carry out major maintenance work on equipment. But this is a war. The ship must always be ready to go, which means all equipment is ready for operation.

For example, on March 21, the ship owners asked them to move to Khor Fakkan port for evacuation. After the 100 cars set off, the harbor master suddenly came to them and said that he had received information that the port would be attacked and the ships would have to leave. Since then, Mr. Akkad’s ship has been anchored off the port of Khor Fakkan. We were told that ships could only arrive bringing emergency supplies.

Typically ships produce fresh water onboard using water used to cool engines. When the ship is not sailing, there is no hot water source from the engine and water cannot be made. However, water and food supplies are provided to the ships by their owners.

“We told our crew that repatriation could be arranged if they wanted to leave. But we are all staying,” he says proudly, noting that 19 of the 24 crew members on his ship are Indian. They all have internet and talk to their families. “We almost had a narrow escape when we intercepted a missile that appeared to be heading our way.”

Humor often helps ease the tension on the ship. It’s almost a kind of gallows humor. “We learned to say hello to the drones. They fly so close that if they have ears, they can hear us,” he says.