What's life like for seafarers stuck in the Strait of Hormuz?

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. It's time to see what you can accomplish with Shopify by your side. Available now on the documentary from the BBC World Service. It's 18 months since a canopy collapsed at a railway station in one of Serbia's largest cities, killing 16. It sparked some of the country's biggest protests for decades. I'm Jill McGivering and I've been finding out what's happened to that explosion of grief and anger. Listen now by searching for the documentary. wherever you get your BBC podcasts. We rely on ships for almost everything. So what happens when the people running them can't move? It's World Business Express from the BBC World Service. I am Bisi Adebayo. We'll hear from those representing thousands of seafarers stranded in the Strait of Hormuz as the tension in the Middle East continues And beyond the red carpet, who's really making money from the Met Gala? After U.S. President Donald Trump launched what he's calling Project Freedom, an operation to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's foreign minister has dismissed it, calling it Project Deadlock. The ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. is looking increasingly fragile after more strikes in the region. Here's the BBC's Barbara George with the latest. The ceasefire is not over. That's what US Defence Secretary Pete Hegsett said during a news conference today. That's despite Iran launching attacks in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday. The US says that the country is ready to resume operation, but Iran's top negotiator said, we are just getting started with their latest military operations. Hegsett argued that the two US-flagged ships already passed through the strait, which shows the lane is clear and that the Iranians are embarrassed. The BBC's Barbara George reports in there. And as tensions rise so the concerns about the welfare of crews caught up in the disruption Around 20 seafarers are believed to be stranded in and around the strait Sasha Mayoch is General Secretary at Nautilus International a global seafarer trade union Many of our members have been on board of ships for 10 weeks now, and it's really taking a toll in terms of stress and anxiety, and especially on a day like today. The main anxiety over the weeks has been, when will the ship sail again? When are we going to get home? Our members have not chosen a military career. They've chosen a civil career at sea. What's it been like for them then, you know, on a day-to-day basis? The men and women at sea are robust people. If not, they wouldn't have chosen these careers. So they don't get stressed so easily. Some tell us they were getting bored by still doing their watch six hours a day, still doing the maintenance of the vessel, but not sailing. Some seafarers tell us that they have lovely teams on board, crew on board, that they improvised swimming pool, that they became fanatical fishers and they barbecued the fish they caught. But it doesn't take away the stress that a ceasefire can change any moment. we woke up with this morning, that the situation is very near to turning into war again. And do they then feel like they're being left in limbo here? At this moment, actually, there's no question of sailing because everything is far too unsure. There are no guarantees at all for safe sailing. Shipowners will want to know what insurers will do if the vessels are insured if they move. So most seafarers are at this moment not really afraid of the ship owners wanting to sail without safety guarantees. But there's talk of the US guiding ships safely through the straits right now. So from your point of view, doesn't that actually reduce the risk for the cruise or does it increase the risk instead? Generally, seafarers would be happy if there would be protected sailing through the straits. So the idea would be welcomed. But most of my members are extremely sceptical about it, as are the ship owners, because there are no details at all as to whether the sailing will be safe. Actually, my members, but also myself, were getting the impression that it has become more dangerous rather than safer over the last 24 hours. That was Sasha Mayock General Secretary at Nautilus International a global seafarer trade union and as expected policymakers are also watching the latest developments and European finance ministers meeting in Brussels have warned that uncertainty from the US-Iran conflict remains high. EU climate commissioner Vopke Hoekstra says Europe should prepare for prolonged instability. Even in the best of cases, even if the shooting would completely stop today, we will see effects of all of this for weeks and potentially months to come. So in my view, we truly need to fasten our seatbelts. And listening in is Fiona Sincolta, who's Senior Market Analyst at Citi Index. Fiona, you've just heard that. How are markets reacting to this renewed uncertainty? Well, interesting global stock markets are actually rising. So the euro stocks 50 is up around 1.5% today. US stocks, for example, the S&P 500 is trading close to its record highs. So we're seeing these strong gains despite oil prices, Brent particularly remaining above $110 the barrel, and despite the sort of lack of clarity over the Strait of Hormuz, investors are really shrugging off those concerns and the possible inflationary impact of higher oil prices. And I think part of that has been because they've been distracted by upbeat earnings, particularly in the US, which has sort of really overshadowed, as I said, those concerns regarding the Middle East. Let's turn to some company news now. We've seen Pfizer beat expectations and reaffirmed its outlook. What's actually driving that road and what sort of response are we seeing from investors? Yes, some upbeat numbers there. So in their first quarter sales actually beat forecasts. And this is down to demand for sort of older blockbuster sort of products, which has offset the decline from, you know, COVID medications. Quarterly sales came in at 14.5 billion US dollars. That was ahead of the 13.8 billion US dollars expected. And this was thanks to, as I said, you know, blood thinners and cancer drugs, which really drove demand. As far as the share price reaction, up 1.4% today. But let's not forget, it has lost about half of its value since the pandemic peak in 2021. Fiona Sincolta, Cinemarket Analyst at City Index. Thank you. And now we turn from the global markets to the world of fashion. Fiance, straight happiness. Charlie, over that shoulder, Charlie. So the Met Gala brought its annual display of high fashion to New York last night raising around million which is the biggest amount in its 77 history according to officials And with that money comes controversy. Amazon owner Jeff Bezos and his wife were announced as lead sponsors and co-chairs of the events, leading to protests and calls for boycotts on social media, like this one on TikTok. I hate the Met Gala, but this year I have a special kind of hate for it because it is funded by the Bezos. But beyond the red carpet, though, who really benefits from all of this? Elina Kirukhina is a brand consultant and was a former director of sales for global brand Isamiyaki. When people start to be upset about Bezos' finding, I don't know if he basically supported fully commercially or financially or not. This is nothing strange because this is what fashion is about. But when you look at it from a business point of view, who really gets the biggest payoff from it? This is a high fashion event. This is something which probably like Oscar or maybe Cannes Film Festival for the fashion. So everybody is there, everybody watching. So it's a huge audience. So it's very, very important to be there with the right person, to be there with the right product, to show what they can do or not. It's very interesting because even Dior, I mean, they take very different directions here. Like Sabrina Carpenter was wearing custom Dior dress made from film stock of movie Sabrina, 1954. How do they really judge whether it's worth it? It's worth it because it gives them a lot of attention. So it's everybody who is who in this world. So it's important for everybody to see that. And designers put a lot of effort into this. And that's it from World Business Express. Please subscribe to get the latest. Search for World Business Express. I am Bissi Adebayo. Thanks for listening. www.feyyaz.tv for decades. I'm Jill McGivering and I've been finding out what's happened to that explosion of grief and anger. Listen now by searching for the documentary wherever you get your BBC podcasts.