Filipino sailor George Miranda was racing to help a stricken vessel aboard the tugboat Mussafah 2 when he last spoke to his wife and young daughter.
The 46-year-old, whose small ship was struck by a pair of missiles this week in the Strait of Hormuz, is the only seafarer from the Philippines known to be missing in the Middle East war, the government says.
But more than 6,000 others from the country that supplies a quarter of the world’s sailors are still working in the conflict zone and surrounding areas, many waiting for the green light to pass through the now-deadly shipping lane.
A series of Iranian strikes has effectively closed the strait, which carries 20 per cent of world oil and gas supplies, plunging the global energy economy into crisis.
For John Winston Isidro, life aboard his very large crude carrier has been marked by equal parts monotony and precaution since his ship began playing the waiting game.
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