To the Secretary-General of the IMO, Flag State Authorities, and Global Shipping Conglomerates:

Civilian seafarers are the backbone of global trade, carrying 90% of the world's goods. They are essential workers, not combatants. Yet, as geopolitical conflicts escalate globally, shipping operators and charterers are routinely forcing Ship Masters to navigate through active war zones, blockades, and high-risk conflict areas to save on transit time and maintain corporate profits.

Just this month, the tragic reality of this corporate gamble was laid bare. Within a span of four days, three commercial vessels—the "Marivex", "Settebello", and "Jalveer"—were fired upon in the Gulf of Oman. Because these ships were ordered to transit a highly volatile, actively blockaded military zone, three innocent seafarers aboard the "Settebello" were killed. According to the UN maritime agency, this brings the regional death toll to 14 civilian seafarers since February 2026 alone.

These men did not sign up for war. They paid the ultimate price for commercial routing decisions made in safe corporate boardrooms thousands of miles away.

This practice is an unacceptable violation of human rights and international maritime safety protocols. Under the ISPS Code and SOLAS conventions, the Ship Master possesses the "overriding authority" to make decisions necessary to protect the lives of their crew. However, a dangerous culture of corporate coercion has emerged. Masters who exercise their right to divert ships away from missile fire, blockades, and drone attacks are frequently met with commercial threats, intimidation, and the implicit risk of career termination.

When a ship is pushed into a conflict zone, a single corporate directive puts dozens of civilian lives directly in the line of fire, alongside massive risks of catastrophic environmental oil spills.

We, the undersigned seafarers, maritime professionals, and global citizens, demand immediate and binding action:

 1. Enforce the Master's Overriding Authority: The IMO and Flag States must enact strict, globally enforced penalties against any shipowner, operator, or charterer that exerts commercial pressure on a Master to transit a high-risk area or active blockade.

 2. Guarantee the Right of Refusal: Codify an unassailable, globally recognized right for Masters and individual crew members to refuse transit through officially designated conflict zones without fear of retaliation, blacklisting, or loss of employment.

 3. Mandatory Transparent Routing: Require operators to inform crews of intended routes through high-risk areas *before* deployment, allowing seafarers to exercise their right to early repatriation at the company's expense.

 4. Establish an Anonymous Reporting Mechanism: Create an independent, international maritime hotline under the IMO where Masters can report corporate coercion and route-forcing without compromising their identities or careers.

A cargo manifest is never worth more than a human life. We call on international regulators to end the corporate exploitation of seafarers and ensure that commercial profit never supersedes the fundamental right to a safe workplace.

Sign the petition to demand safe passage and ultimate routing authority for our seafarers.