Iranian maritime union leader: Over 40 sailors killed in US-Israel war

At least 44 Iranian sailors have been killed and 29 wounded since the US-Israel war began, according to Iran's maritime union leader.

The casualty list includes 22 civilian sailors, 16 fishermen and 6 dockworkers killed between February 28 and April 1, Saman Rezaei, secretary general of the Iranian Merchant Mariners Syndicate, told Al Jazeera on Friday.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the list, which Rezaei said was compiled by Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization and union members. He noted the list does not include Iranian navy members killed by US and Israeli forces.

Rezaei has sent his findings in multiple complaint letters to the UN's International Maritime Organization in March and April, blaming "attacks by US and Israeli armies on Iranian ports and commercial fleet" across Iran's territorial waters and the Persian Gulf. His letters state at least 29 Iranian sailors were wounded and 9 are missing.

The Iranian Merchant Mariners Syndicate is affiliated with the International Transport Workers' Federation and represents workers in negotiations with Iranian shipping companies. Since the war began, it has also provided humanitarian, medical and repatriation support for stranded sailors.

"The humanitarian crisis is affecting all sailors in the Persian Gulf, including crews of Iranian-flagged vessels. However, they (Iranian sailors) face a unique and daunting set of pressures," Rezaei told Al Jazeera on Friday.

He said sailors are not only worried about dwindling supplies but also face "severe psychological breakdown" after 60 days trapped in a war zone stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean.

According to the independent Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project, US and Israeli forces have conducted over 3,000 airstrikes across Iran since February 28, while Iran has launched nearly 1,600 retaliatory attacks across the Middle East.

A ceasefire between the US and Iran took effect on April 8, but the US unilaterally imposed a naval blockade of all Iranian ports on April 13 to cut off Iran's oil exports and pressure Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The strait, through which a fifth of the world's exported gas and energy typically flows, has been effectively closed since the war began, leaving 20,000 sailors stranded in and around the strait for at least two months.

Despite the ceasefire, Iranian forces have continued to fire on ships trying to escape the Strait of Hormuz and on April 22 seized two Panama- and Liberia-flagged cargo vessels. US forces also seized the Iranian-flagged MV Touska and detained its crew in the Gulf of Oman on April 19, with US Central Command accusing the ship of violating its naval blockade.

According to US President Donald Trump, the Touska was also under US sanctions for a "history of illicit activity." Rezaei said those detained on the Touska include 23 crew members, two cadets, two women and one child, though these figures could not be independently verified. He said the two women and the child were among six people on the Touska released by US forces this week and returned to Iran.

According to the IMO, Iranian attacks on ships in the Gulf or those trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz have also killed at least 10 sailors since the war began. The IMO did not respond to Al Jazeera's emailed request for comment.

Stephen Cotton, general secretary of the ITF, told Al Jazeera it is important to remember that sailors trapped on both sides of the war are civilians. "The issue is that they are seafarers. You can say they are under an Iranian flag, and there are sanctions, but not everyone agrees with the sanctions," he said.