Missile strike on oil tanker kills Indian captain and seafarer in Strait of Hormuz

Sunil Puniya, 26, was asleep in his cabin when a missile struck the oil tanker Skylight in the early hours of 1 March. The US-sanctioned vessel had sailed from Dubai and was approaching the Strait of Hormuz.

"I felt the whole ship shake. I thought there'd been some fault with the engine. But as soon as I stepped outside of my room, there was another explosion," he said.

The missile hit the engine room, starting a fire that spread quickly. The ship lost power and filled with smoke. Sailors struggled to breathe. Some from South India began making panicked calls home. Sunil told them to stop and helped them reach the deck.

By then the fire had reached the deck. Oil covered the surface and flames moved toward the crew. They jumped into the sea.

The Oman Navy rescued survivors within an hour. Sunil soon realized his friend Dalip Rathore, 25, was missing. The two men came from neighboring villages in Rajasthan and had become close after joining the ship days apart.

Hours before the strike, Dalip had taken Sunil's watch in the engine room. Dalip and the captain, Ashish Kumar, were killed. Some of the captain's remains were recovered. Dalip's body has not been found.

Maritime intelligence firm Kpler told BBC Verify that 38 commercial vessels have been hit in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict began. Twenty-four were struck by Iran and four by the US. The war has blocked passage for hundreds of ships. More than 20,000 seafarers are now stuck in the Gulf, according to the International Maritime Organization.

The International Transport Workers' Federation says it has received more than 2,000 calls for help from crews trapped in the area. Issues include unpaid wages, contract disputes, and shortages of food and water. Mohamed Arrachedi, the federation's network coordinator for the Arab world and Iran, said some crews have been abandoned by their owners.

Rex Pereira, 28, from Mumbai, was recruited by the same agents as Sunil. He said his ship had contaminated water and expired food for months before the war. When the conflict began he was off Iraq and saw missiles fired nearby. He eventually returned to India with help from a union and the Indian embassy, but his family paid thousands of pounds in travel costs.

MarineTraffic lists the Skylight's owner as Red Sea Ship Management in Dubai. The company did not respond to calls or emails. The ship lost its insurance after US sanctions in December and was deregistered by Palau, its former flag state. Sunil said a recruiting agent in India told him the vessel was insured. Placing seafarers on an uninsured ship violates maritime law.

Sunil says he will not return to sea. He has not yet visited Dalip's family.