AdvertisementBusinessMarketsMiddle East at war The Iran war’s forgotten captives: Sailors trapped in the Persian Gulf Jenny Gross and Peter Eavis August 6, 2026 — 4:07pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Iran seized the vessel, the MSC Francesca, as it tried to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on April 22. Roughly 6000 sailors remain stranded, according to the International Maritime Organisation. AP “There has been some improvement in the situation,” Ginette Testa, Panama’s ambassador to the International Maritime Organisation, said July 21. AdvertisementTwo sailors, both Croatians, have been released from the Francesca, according to Croatia’s foreign affairs ministry.