More than 40 Iranian seafarers killed during US–Israeli war: Union leader

At least 44 Iranian seafarers have been killed and 29 injured since the start of the United States-Israel war on Iran, according to the head of the country’s merchant marine union. Among them were 22 civilian sailors, 16 fishermen and six dock workers, who were killed between February 28 and April 1, Iranian Merchant Mariners Syndicate (IMMS) general secretary Saman Rezaei told Al Jazeera on Friday. Recommended Stories list of 4 items end of list Al Jazeera could not independently verify the list of deceased, which Rezaei said was compiled by Iran Ports and Maritime Organization and members of his union. The list does not include members of Iran’s navy killed by US and Israeli forces, he said. Rezaei submitted his findings in several letters of complaint to the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) during March and April, attributing the deaths to “attacks by US and Israeli armies on Iranian ports and commercial fleets” across Iran’s territorial waters and the Gulf. His letters state that at least 29 Iranian seafarers were also injured and nine are missing. The IMMS is affiliated with the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and represents workers during negotiations with Iranian shipping companies. Since the war began, it has also offered humanitarian, medical and repatriation assistance to stranded seafarers. “The humanitarian crisis is affecting all seafarers in the Persian Gulf, including the crews of Iranian-flagged ships. …