13 March,2026 08:15 AM IST | Mumbai | Hemal Ashar
Captain Jamshed Appoo
"Darkness became our ally," recalled Capt Jamshed Appoo, who worked in the Merchant Navy for two decades and has traversed the Strait of Hormuz - a passage between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman - numerous times. Today, this strait has become front and centre of the Iran-US-Israel war.
"It was the 1980s, and the Iran-Iraq war had broken out. It was a very bloody war. I used to sail for a Norwegian company then, and our route was through the strait of Hormuz. The vessel was a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC). We used to sail from Rastan Nura [in Saudi Arabia], picking up the oil and offloading in Europe, most of the time in Amsterdam," said Capt Appoo.
Captain Jamshed Appoo in the engine room of the vessel. PICS/BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Capt Appoo, who was chief officer on board at that time, said, "For safety, our radars and navigation lights used to be mostly âoff', and the windows and portholes on the vessel were covered with black paper." "Iranian gunboats used to hit ships. I saw a vessel get hit and turn into a ball of fire just five miles ahead. So many years, and that inferno still blazes in my mind," he recalled.
>> Sailing in the dark
>> Traversing, hugging the UAE coast
>> Taking instructions from the shipping company
The VLCC was an Unmanned Machinery Space (UMS) which refers to a ship's engine room or other machinery spaces that operate without continuous human supervision. All crew including officers would gather in the saloon/lounge space while traversing the Strait with nobody in the engine room.
The Strait of Hormuz is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. Today, this strait has become front and centre of the Iran-US-Israel war. Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in his first statement said that the Strait of Hormuz must remain closed as leverage against the US.
