An Indian cargo vessel attempting to sail from Dubai in the Persian Gulf to Yemen has reportedly been caught in the middle of the United States-Iran attacks.

A drone hit the unregistered wooden ship on Friday night as it was sailing near Oman and the ship instantaneously caught fire before beginning to sink.

As the 18-member crew scrambled to protect themselves, a nearby Indian vessel heard their radio call for help and came to the rescue.

Tragically, a seafarer named Atlaf Talab Ker had already lost his life. 

In a statement posted on X, the Indian Consulate in Dubai said: "[We are] saddened to learn of the unfortunate incident at sea that caused the tragic death of an Indian crew of a wooden dhow."

In a statement seen by the ABC, the vessel owner, Saleman Bhaya, wrote about the incident: "The vessel reportedly came under cross-fire (one drone hit the vessel) during war-like conditions between the United States and Iran."

Four other sailors sustained burn injuries. All remaining crew, along with the deceased's body, were taken to a hospital in Dubai where they are now being looked after as arrangements for Mr Talab Ker's funeral in Dubai begins.

At least 10 sailors have died in the 10 weeks since the US-Israel-Iran war began in February this year, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

While the ceasefire appears shaky, an estimated 20,000 seafarers are in or around the Strait of Hormuz.

The crucial waterway, which carried 20 per cent of the world's global oil and gas supplies before the war, has become a living "nightmare" for the many seafarers stuck in a limbo over a war the US president claimed was "nearing completion" a month ago.

In this battle between Tehran and Washington, which is now in its third month, it is these seafarers — most of whom hail from countries with little say in the situation, such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and India — who have become the collateral damage, according to a prominent maritime union.

Caught in the crossfire

It is not the first time an Indian vessel has been caught in the crossfire of this war.

Early in March, just a day after the war started, two Indian vessels were struck. There has been no information from Indian officials about the origin of the missiles. 

Crew aboard the Palau-flagged vessel Skylight woke up to the sound of a missile attack hitting their ship.

The sailors on board the ship — 10 Indians and some Iranians who were there for repairs — were caught off-guard. They had no idea a war had begun overnight. 

One Indian sailor died in that attack. One more went missing and was never found.

On the same day, another seafarer from Mumbai in India, aboard MT MKD Vyom died when that vessel was hit by a missile off the coast of Oman.

Four of the 10 seafarer deaths in this war have been Indian workers.

Manoj Yadav is general secretary of the Forward Seamen's Union of India and has been keeping in touch with many of the Indian seafarers in the strait.

He said the conditions sailors and crew were faced with now were "worse than during COVID."

"It is like a jail," he added.

He said seafarers were under "tremendous mental stress", could not relax, and were "watching the sky" for possible threats most of the time.

Mr Yadav said there were thousands of Indian sailors stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, and while most ships had food and basics, the quantity was dwindling.

"My appeal is to the United Nations or the IMO to take a lead, to at least make sure that they get sufficient food, they get sufficient water and are allowed to freely move, at least within the region," he said.

Mr Yadav said many of the seafarers he was in touch with wished to leave the strait but were unable to.

"Last week, I spoke with some of them who want to leave. There are still hundreds who want to go but don't have access," he said.

While some repatriations have been carried out since the start of the war, not all sailors have been able to leave the region.

Mr Yadav said some seafarers were escaping via road to Armenia, where they then boarded a flight to India.

"They are coordinating with embassies and trying to get an exit visa from one country to another and then back to India," he said.

But without the proper paperwork for a visa, that option was also not possible.

"Shipping companies do not want to let them leave because new sailors to relieve them don't want to come," Mr Yadav said.

At least not in the "current war-like conditions", he added.

The families left behind

Amid the estimated 2,000 vessels stuck in the Persian Gulf, two ships do not even have the option to consider leaving — the vessels that the IRGC seized nearly three weeks ago.

One of the seized ships, a Liberian-flagged vessel, Epaminondas, was headed for India, with a mostly Indian crew on board. One of those seafarers was 38-year-old Sanjay Mahar.

In an audio message sent to the family and heard by the ABC, Mr Mahar can be heard telling his family his ship is under attack.

Moments later, his wife Rekha Mahar was on the phone with him. She stayed in touch with him throughout the attack.

"He told me when the attack was over, and the other crew was safe," she said.

"Then I lost contact with him."

Sanjay and Rekha Mahar have a four-year-old daughter. Ms Mahar asked: "How do I explain this to her?"

"I am suffering every moment. There is no update on his current status, on his health condition, on his return," she said. 

"There is no contact with him."

Ms Mahar has been in touch with the company that hired her husband. She constantly stays in touch with the Indian government, which assured her that they are trying to get the Indian sailors back. 

But as every day passes, there is no new information on her husband's status.

Many of the seafarers come from economically poor backgrounds, and their wages are essential to run households back in their home countries.

"Many of them have not been paid," Mr Yadav said.

"More than 20 seafarers from various vessels have already spoken to me that they are struggling to get their wages."

Mr Yadav said that while these workers were used to working long durations on ships and being away from their families for extended periods of time, doing so without pay in some cases and under constant duress was a nightmare.

Fragile ceasefire holds

The missiles, the drone attacks, the confusing instructions in the strait about who can go where — they all come amid the mixed signals from the United States and Iran over further peace talks.

"The statements from Donald Trump are not helping at all," Mr Yadav said.

He said everyone was relying on information put out by both Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the United States. But despite the best efforts of ship captains, incidents like the one on Friday keep happening.

"Why are they [seafarers] suffering? They have nothing to do with this war," Mr Yadav said. 

Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared the war "over". Mr Rubio told reporters on Wednesday that the focus of the US was now turning to the "humanitarian effort" of helping ships leave.

He was referring to "Project Freedom", which was started by US President Donald Trump as a way to help commercial ships leave the strait under the guidance of the US Navy.

His team claimed Project Freedom was working. Then Trump put it on hold

Iran branded Project Freedom as "Project Deadlock". Now the operation is on hold. 

That operation lasted for less than 36 hours, with two US-flagged ships confirmed as having exited the strait in that time. Other vessels reportedly did attempt to leave under this project, but it is unclear if they managed to make it through.

On Thursday, Mr Trump boasted, yet again, of the end of the war being close. It came after mediators from Pakistan had passed to Iran a one-page peace proposal drafted by the US.

Iran responded, but not to the liking of the US president.

Mr Trump posted on Truth Social yesterday: "I have just read the response from Iran's so-called 'Representatives.' I don't like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE."

With a peace deal between the US and Iran still elusive, seafarers are left in limbo. 

And the Persian Gulf becomes more of a nautical prison for some as they witness an unprecedented 21st-century battle firsthand.