Chapter 1: What is the current situation in the Strait of Hormuz?
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From The New York Times, I'm Natalie Kitroff. This is The Daily. The U.S. and Iran are each signaling that they may be making progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz. But they haven't reached a deal yet, and the crucial shipping channel remains shut. Hanging in the balance are thousands of crew members who have been stranded on their ships since the fighting started three months ago.
Today, we hear from two seafarers who got stuck about what it's like to be trapped in the middle of this war zone and what it would mean to get everyone out. It's Friday, May 29th. Can you hear me?
Yeah, I can hear your identity.
Okay, great. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us.
Yeah, no problem.
So just to start, can you introduce yourself, please?
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Chapter 2: What experiences did Captain Virendra Vishwakarma have during the war?
And that's where he was when the war started.
Like, boom. I thought maybe the crew has banging the door. But again, I hear the same thing. So I thought it could not be possible. So I went on the bridge. Bridge is the part of the ship where we navigate the ship. All the navigation equipment, all the parts are there on the bridge where we navigate. So I run on the bridge. I saw all the missiles continuously. And the U.S.
base is intercepting the drones and the missiles.
Whoa, you could see missiles from the bridge where you were standing? Yes, yes, yes.
Then the debris are falling near to our vessels and the vibration was very high. All my crew were panicked then after seeing that. And I was shivering. I was shivering and I was in the shock what to do.
Captain, did you know what was happening? Like, did you have any idea what was going on at this point?
No. When the day started, we are clueless. Why it is happening? What is the reason behind that? Where it is coming and where it is going? We don't know actually. Wow. So after that, I informed my company. And the big bosses from the company, they said that if you, captain, feel unsafe, you take out the vessel. We are with you.
Captain Vishwakarma wanted to get his crew out of there, and he wanted to stop loading the fuel onto the ship. Because if they got hit, the cargo could turn his ship into a massive bomb.
We have almost 6,000, 7,000 of metric ton of propane butane on board ship. So if something falls on our ship, it will be a bigger disaster.
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Chapter 3: How did Captain Vishwakarma and his crew react to the missile attacks?
He's far from home. He's from Myanmar. And his ship was delivering cars to the Gulf when the war first broke out.
My job on ship is I'm a safety officer to all crew. Okay. So I have to be strong, you know, for my crew. And I have to think all the time. for their safety and also my safety.
That sounds like a big responsibility in this moment.
Yes. So that's why we are staying inside the ship, not going outside, because some drones may be falling down to our ship.
He's constantly worried that the temporary ceasefire will break down and that the missile strikes could start again. So as the safety officer, he's checking the news a lot. But the news can be confusing. So a more direct way to understand what's happening around him is by listening to the transmissions coming in over the ship's radio.
We open the radio all the time.
Which he does every day.
Every day.
Attention all ships, attention all ships, attention all ships. This is the POP-AV.
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Chapter 4: What challenges do stranded seafarers face in the Strait of Hormuz?
Alexandra Lee Young is our Deputy Executive Producer. Michael Benoit is our Deputy Editor. Paige Cowett is the Editor of The Daily. Ben Calhoun is our Executive Producer. Special thanks to Paula Schumann, Larissa Anderson, Sam Dolnick, and to the founding editor of the show, Lisa Tobin. That's it for The Daily. I'm Natalie Ketrowek. See you on Sunday.
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