A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed since the war with Iran started. For vessels that were in the Persian Gulf at the time, that means there is no way out. And as NPR's Diaa Hadid reports from Mumbai, the U.N. is trying to extract seafarers stuck on those vessels.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: There are currently 20,000 seafarers stuck near the Strait of Hormuz.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: If you're one of those seafarers, here's how you can contact us.
DIAA HADID, BYLINE: That's one of several PSAs on social media by the International Transport Workers' Union. Union official John Canias says trying to reach thousands of seafarers trapped in a war zone is unprecedented.
JOHN CANIAS: There has never been anything as long as this and also whilst they are trapped within the Persian Gulf.
HADID: Most seafarers are from the Philippines, Bangladesh and India. And one advocate for Indian seafarers says they aren't just trapped - they're being put in deliberate danger. Manoj Yadav (ph) accuses Iranian authorities of not allowing some seafarers to disembark from vessels. He shares a message from one captain on condition we don't identify him because it may harm his efforts to have him repatriated.
MANOJ YADAV: They have kept us as a hostage. In simple language, they are keeping us as hostage.
HADID: Yadav says he's particularly worried for those stuck around the Iranian maritime hub Bandar Abbas.
YADAV: They are facing a continuous bombing nearby their vessel, targeting the Iranian naval base or their air base.
HADID: He says seafarers called him after one attack.
YADAV: They're crying. They're asking me, how will we get out from here?
HADID: Yadav says he's also hearing some vessels are running low on food and water. Already, there's a mounting toll.
DOROTA LOST-SIEMINSKA: So far, we have 18 attacks on ships and five port facilities, seven seafarers fatalities, one port worker.
HADID: That's Lost-Sieminska from the International Maritime Organization. She says the director-general is negotiating with all sides to try evacuate seafarers. And all one father wants now is his son's body.
AMRATLAL SOLANKI: (Speaking Hindi).
HADID: Amratlal Solanki tells the Indian Express that in early March, he got a message that a vessel hit his son's boat. Other crewmen were rescued, but his son's body couldn't be salvaged.
SOLANKI: (Speaking Hindi).
HADID: He says he wants to undertake the last Hindu rites of his son, even as thousands of other families hope their seafarers will return alive.
Diaa Hadid, NPR News, Mumbai.
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