After nearly six months of uncertainty, fear, and survival at sea, 28-year-old seafarer Rex Pereira is finally back home. But what he brings with him is not just relief; it's a harrowing account of exploitation, abandonment, and being caught in the middle of a war zone.
Rex had joined a vessel on October 14, 2025, hoping to build a career at sea. Instead, he alleges he was pushed into a dangerous and unregulated situation from the very start. "No documents were given when we joined. We were later shifted to another ship," he says.
What followed were months of extreme hardship. For nearly four months, the crew survived without proper supplies. "We were in the water for months. We used to heat seawater to make freshwater and drink it. Food wasn't fresh, and there were no basic facilities," Rex recalls. At one point, only four Indians remained on board.
The situation worsened dramatically in March, when conflict escalated in the region. Rex was stationed near Basra, Iraq, as missile exchanges intensified between Iran and its adversaries. "It began around March 9. We could see fire and missiles; it was too loud, and there were vibrations," he says. Bombing was reported as close as 5 km from their vessel, with crossfire within 2 km.
Stranded without documents, Rex struggled to prove his identity or legal status. "They had taken our passports. Without documents, I couldn't even approach the embassy properly," he says. He eventually reached out to Manoj Yadav, General Secretary of the Forward Seamen Union of India, who helped initiate contact with Indian authorities.
The Indian Embassy stepped in on March 12, but evacuation was far from straightforward. Rex alleges that the ship's owner resisted letting the crew go. "They even promised to increase our salaries if we stayed, after not paying us for four months," he says.
It took sustained pressure from the embassy, including the threat of issuing emergency documents, to break the deadlock. With the help of local immigration officials in Basra, Rex finally recovered his passport and Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC). He made a difficult journey across multiple vehicles to reach the Saudi border before returning to India on April 5.
However, his ordeal is far from an isolated case. Three other Indian crew members remain stuck. According to Rex, they are being routed to Dubai and may not be allowed to return home until they complete a 12-month contract. "They're worried about repaying loans. The embassy advised them to return, but they chose to stay and gave it in writing," he says.
Rex's experience has left him deeply shaken. "It was my dream to work on a ship. But after this, I don't think I'll ever go back. The panic my family went through has broken me," he says.
His father, Chester Pereira, a shipbuilder with four decades of experience, describes the vessel as "a jail in the sea." "The ship was scrap. Engines failed often; there were no supplies, no communication. We were promised proper facilities, but nothing was delivered," he says, raising serious questions about recruitment practices.
The family also alleges complete ignorance from the agents who facilitated Rex's placement. "They didn't contact us then; they haven't contacted us now," Chester says, calling for stricter regulation of maritime recruitment agencies.
Although a temporary ceasefire has been announced by both the warring parties, for Rex and his family, the scars remain. "When the bombings started, his mother cried the whole night," his father says.
