The Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI) has asked the Indian government to step in, alleging that the vessel’s owners and managers are pressuring the captain and crew to make the transit.The union has asked for the crew to be brought back to India with their full wages and other contractual dues.In a post on X, FSUI said the 16 crew members had clearly refused to enter the high-risk waterway. It also said they would not sail in dark conditions with communications switched off.In a video shared by FSUI on X, AM Pioneer Master Anil Raj said the vessel arrived at Ras Al Khaimah Port in the United Arab Emirates last month for a survey.Raj said the company had initially told the crew that they would cross the Strait of Hormuz to India when the waterway was open to ships and considered safe to navigate.

He said the situation changed last week, when the company began pushing the vessel to cross Hormuz and go to Fujairah.“The company is putting the blame on me,” Raj said, adding that he was being accused of misleading the crew and officers against the company.Raj also said the company had tried to arrange security for the vessel and had asked the Americans for air support to help it pass through Hormuz.“The company is trying to push us through Hormuz in a crooked way and put our lives in danger,” he said.The video showed several crew members standing behind the captain.

The vessel’s second engineer, who was not identified, said he would agree to cross the Strait of Hormuz when it was open for all ships.Another crew member said they had been told when they joined the company to keep the vessel ready and sail only when Hormuz was safe for transit.“But now we are being forced. We want our life safe and we will not cross Hormuz till it is safe,” the crew member said.FSUI has called on the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, and Directorate General of Shipping to take action to protect the 16 Indian nationals.The union is also seeking their immediate repatriation along with full wages and contractual dues.The information provided does not include a response from the vessel’s owners or managers to the allegations.

AM Pioneer is a Marshall Islands-flagged offshore supply vessel that carries equipment, crew and essential supplies to offshore oil and gas platforms.According to the ship-monitoring information cited in the source material, the vessel is managed by Alphard Maritime Private Limited, a Mumbai-based company.The vessel had arrived at Ras Al Khaimah for a survey before the crew was instructed to proceed through the Strait of Hormuz.On July 21, the Indian government told Parliament that 59 India-bound ships had safely crossed the Strait of Hormuz since the US-Iran conflict began on February 28.At that time, six Indian-flagged vessels remained stranded on the western side of the waterway.AM Pioneer is Marshall Islands-flagged, but all 16 crew members involved in the dispute are Indian nationals.