Merchant ship captains' salaries rose to $100,000 a month against the backdrop of deteriorating shipping conditions in the Black Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, reports the Financial Times. The international community and the shipping industry must work together to protect the people who keep global trade flowing smoothly, writes Deborah Layde, CEO of the Sailors' Society, a British charity providing financial and humanitarian support to seafarers, fishermen and their families worldwide, in an op-ed for the FT. Few of us will ever have to decide whether to go to a war zone to make a living. But for many of the 2.5 million merchant seafarers, this is their daily reality. We depend on them to bring groceries to shelves, fuel to gas stations and medicines to hospitals. But the events of the past month alone have shown how dangerous their work has become. In the Black Sea, merchant ships have been attacked by drones off the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania: several ships have sunk, and sailors have died or gone missing. In the Strait of Hormuz, attacks on ships are a regular occurrence in a conflict that has already claimed the lives of at least 24 civilian sailors. Under current conditions, the system is supported by additional cash payments. About 90% of global trade is carried out by sea, and its continuity depends on the willingness of seafarers to go to sea, sometimes under extremely dangerous circumstances. Reports that captains are being offered salaries of up to $100,000 a month and $50,000 bonuses, while crew members receive 5 times their normal pay, show just how high the stakes are.

Merchant ship captains' salaries rose to $100,000 a month against the backdrop of deteriorating shipping conditions in the Black Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, reports the Financial Times. The international community and the shipping industry must work together to protect the people who keep global trade flowing smoothly, writes Deborah Layde, CEO of the Sailors' Society, a British charity providing financial and humanitarian support to seafarers, fishermen and their families worldwide, in an op-ed for the FT. Few of us will ever have to decide whether to go to a war zone to make a living. But for many of the 2.5 million merchant seafarers, this is their daily reality. We depend on them to bring groceries to shelves, fuel to gas stations and medicines to hospitals. But the events of the past month alone have shown how dangerous their work has become. In the Black Sea, merchant ships have been attacked by drones off the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania: several ships have sunk, and sailors have died or gone missing. In the Strait of Hormuz, attacks on ships are a regular occurrence in a conflict that has already claimed the lives of at least 24 civilian sailors. Under current conditions, the system is supported by additional cash payments. About 90% of global trade is carried out by sea, and its continuity depends on the willingness of seafarers to go to sea, sometimes under extremely dangerous circumstances. Reports that captains are being offered salaries of up to $100,000 a month and $50,000 bonuses, while crew members receive 5 times their normal pay, show just how high the stakes are.