For nearly a year, two Indian seafarers aboard the vessel PSD-1 at Iran’s Port Bushehr have allegedly remained stranded without salaries, electricity, adequate food or water, and with no indication of when they will be allowed to return home.Their ordeal, according to the Forward Seamen Union of India (FSUI), reached a desperate point on March 5 when they jumped into the sea and swam to shore to escape attacks in the vicinity. The union alleged that instead of being repatriated, they were forced back onto the vessel by its owner.The union has now urged Indian authorities to intervene immediately to secure the sailors’ return, describing their condition as “a life of imprisonment” in a conflict zone.“They have been abandoned on a deserted island,” the FSUI said, alleging that the two have gone unpaid for 12 months while facing severe shortages of basic necessities.In a video shared by the union, one of the stranded sailors, Navin Kumar, made an emotional appeal for help. “We have a problem here for the last twelve months, but the owner is not responding. My contract finished nine months ago, but because of the war condition, we stayed here. Now the war is finished, but they are not giving us sign-off,” he said, referring to the formal process of relieving crew members from duty.Navin further alleged that repeated requests for repatriation have yielded only assurances. “Now here, we don’t have food. We don’t have water. We waited so many days, but my agent told us we will give a sign-off soon. Please help me,” he says.FSUI General Secretary Manoj Yadav said the two sailors were among thousands of seafarers affected by the conflict in West Asia.“Around 23,000 crew members were stranded across the Persian Gulf, a large number of them in and around Iran and the Strait of Hormuz,” Yadav said.He claimed that while crew members of other nationalities were evacuated during the conflict, the two Indians remained stranded.“We received information about them only yesterday after they reached out to us. Earlier, there were more crew members on board, but during the conflict, all those of other nationalities left,” he said.Recalling the March incident, Yadav alleged that vessels operating barely 100 metres away from PSD-1 came under attack, forcing the two Indians to jump into the sea and swim to safety.“They told us that ships close to theirs, including Iranian vessels, were attacked, resulting in multiple casualties. To save themselves, they jumped into the water and swam to the shore,” he said.The FSUI has urged the Ministry of External Affairs, the Directorate General of Shipping and other authorities to facilitate the sailors’ repatriation. It has also appealed to international maritime bodies to intervene and ensure their safe return.URGENT APPEALTwo Indian seafarers remain stranded for 12 months on vessel #PSD-1 at Port Bushehr, Iran.In a war zone with continuous attacks nearby (within 100 metres). On 5 March, they jumped into the sea and swam to the port to save their lives — only to be forced back on… pic.twitter.com/ce2PWOXFhF— FSUI (@FSUIINDIA) July 29, 2026