As the scorching sun set over the horizon, a group of Filipino crew members sat huddled together in a dark corner of an oil tanker slowly navigating through the treacherous Strait of Hormuz. The air was thick with tension, though they tried to hide their anxiety by passing a cigarette between them. They had heard the whispers of war between Iran and Israel growing louder every day, and here they were, in the eye of the storm.
Ruben, one of the older crew members, exhaled a cloud of smoke and leaned back against the steel wall of the ship. “You ever wonder why Iran doesn’t just close this whole strait down?” he asked, breaking the silence.
“Wouldn’t be smart,” came a quiet reply from Marco, his bunkmate. “There are Shiite residents in the GCC too. Iran doesn’t want to mess with that, not too much anyway.”
Ruben raised an eyebrow, considering this. “So, they won’t close it, even if things get bad?”
From the shadows, another crew member, Paolo, chuckled darkly. “They’ll hint at it, alright,” he said. “That’ll keep the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on edge. But if they actually close the Strait, the GCC will band together, and that’ll be a problem for Iran.”
The men fell silent for a moment, thinking about the delicate balance of power. The sea they were gliding through had seen countless conflicts, and every inch of it carried centuries of history. They all knew that if Iran ever pulled the trigger on closing the Strait of Hormuz, it would send the whole region spiraling into chaos.
“Plus,” Paolo continued, smirking, “Iran needs the Shiite unity, right? Close this down, and they’ll crack that bond with the GCC. Shiites in those countries won’t be too happy if they’re dragged into a bigger war.”
Ruben flicked the cigarette into the sea, watching the embers flicker out against the dark water. “So who wins then?” he asked, already guessing the answer.
“China,” Marco muttered. “They’ll swoop in, take all the oil at a discount. They don’t care who’s fighting, as long as the barrels keep flowing east.”
The men shared a bitter laugh, knowing that in the grand chessboard of geopolitics, they were just pawns, riding through dangerous waters while powers far above their heads played their games.
The ship’s engine hummed steadily beneath them as the tanker continued its journey, inching through one of the most volatile regions in the world. The war might be on the horizon, but for now, they had their smokes and their uneasy camaraderie—small comforts in a sea of uncertainty.
All names of people and organizations appearing in this story are pseudonyms.
Fears for Strait of Hormuz oil gateway in Iran-Israel face-off
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