Families seek answers after three Iraqi sailors disappear in Gulf waters
Shafaq News- Basra
Families of three Iraqi sailors from Basra appealed on Thursday for urgent government intervention after losing contact with their relatives 16 days ago while working aboard two vessels operating between Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
Family representative Faiq al-Asadi told Shafaq News that the missing sailors —Diaa al-Asadi, Haider al-Mayahi, and Diaa Abd— had traveled from Basra to Iran to work aboard the vessels “Breej 1” and “Breej 2” near Iran’s Kish Island.
He said the men had boarded the vessels to replace Iranian and Pakistani sailors before communication was suddenly lost on May 5, with the final contact occurring around 11:00 p.m.
The families said they had received no official information regarding the sailors’ fate amid conflicting reports suggesting the vessels may have sunk or suffered another incident at sea.
They called on Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, the Basra governor, the Foreign Ministry, and Iraqi embassies in Gulf states and Iran to intervene and coordinate with relevant authorities to determine what happened.
Iraq’s General Company for Ports confirmed on Thursday that it had mobilized teams after receiving information about the disappearance of the Bolivian-flagged vessels Breej 1 and Breej 2. The company said neither vessel had entered Iraqi territorial waters and that no distress signal had been received from either ship.
According to the statement, Iraqi authorities received electronic messages from security agencies at Gulf ports and from the vessels’ owners requesting any available information after communication with the crews was lost.
The company said monitoring operations were continuing through satellite tracking systems in coordination with regional search and rescue authorities.
The incident comes amid growing security risks in Gulf waters following the Iran-US war that erupted on February 28, 2026. In March, two foreign oil tankers were attacked near Basra’s territorial waters, triggering fires aboard both vessels.
Read more: Iran is losing the war, the US is losing the endgame
Iraqi fishermen operating in Gulf waters have also repeatedly reported security incidents involving Iranian and Kuwaiti patrols, with fishing activity in Basra sharply declining in recent years due to rising risks at sea.
