As the Strait of Hormuz edges towards reopening, sailors who survived 75 days under fire count the psychological cost of someone else’s war
4-MIN READ4-MIN ListenUshar DanielePublished: 12:31pm, 17 Jun 2026Captain Raman Kapoor was loading oil at an Iraqi port when word reached him that the United States and Iran were at war.Within hours, his tanker was trapped north of the Strait of Hormuz with 24 crew members aboard, as missiles began arcing across the sky overhead.
“We were stuck inside the war zone and everyone was so scared and clueless about what to do,” Kapoor, 48, recalled. “We all felt so trapped. We were helpless, totally helpless.”
