sailors

Why go now?

A thin peninsula just south of Rotterdam’s centre, Katendrecht was once at the heart of the world’s busiest port, home to continental Europe’s first Chinatown and a lively sailors’ quarter. Its later reputation as a red light district has been shrugged off – part of the city’s wider reinvention in the aftermath of extensive second world war bombing.

Still Europe’s largest port, Rotterdam’s maritime history is very much evident today, with the former headquarters of the Holland-America Line now a hotel just a short hop across the Rijnhaven Bridge. The 2012 opening of this pedestrian and bicycle bridge finally connected cut-off Katendrecht to Wilhelminapier, which was a jumping off point for transatlantic migration, and is today a major cruise terminal, with more than 100 ships departing every year.

The opening of the Fenix museum of migration last year and the reopening of the Nederlands Fotomuseum in a new location here in February have accelerated Katendrecht’s rise in status, following on from the entrepreneurs and creatives who have introduced craft breweries, food halls and design boutiques in recent years.

Former warehouses have been transformed – into the aforementioned museums among other venues – and a lively cultural and arts scene has grown as the neighbourhood has seen new residents rediscover the formerly downtrodden area.

With more big construction projects under way, Katendrecht will be transformed further over the next five years, with apartments, shops, a five-star hotel, an urban beach and, notably, the Rotterdam Centre for Dance, Danshuis, on the horizon.

Where to eat and drink

Deliplein is the place to begin – the tree-lined square lies at the heart of the old sailors’ quarter and houses more than 20 restaurants and bars. Originally home to the first Chinese restaurant in the Netherlands, Delistraat is buzzing from morning to night.

Start at Jordy’s Bakery, where flaky pastries, vegan muffins, sourdough sandwiches and speciality coffees will fuel you for the morning. Across the road in the Fenix atrium, O: Anatolian Café is run by the Michelin-starred chef Maksut Aşkar; on the menu are all-day Turkish breakfasts, meze platters, sandwiches and salads at extremely reasonable prices.

Kaapse Brouwers in the Fenix Food Factory is where the post-work crowd heads. Sit on the terrace, admire the waterfront view and explore its range of more than 20 craft beers on tap – from Belgian blonds and New England IPAs to pilsners and sours. And back on Delistraat, Café de Ouwehoer is a classic old-style pub with a nod to the area’s past – and a huge range of whiskeys to boot.

A few doors down, finish your evening at the small but perfectly formed fine-dining establishment De Matroos en Het Meisje (The Sailor and the Girl), which offers a changing daily menu. With the option of choosing from four to six courses, dependent on season and produce, dishes could be charred carrot, cured Japanese fish, creme fraiche and onion, or chicken breast with mushroom beurre blanc, blackberries and crisped rice.

Cultural experiences

Fenix is the obvious first stop. Funded by the philanthropic foundation Droom en Daad (Dream and Do), the museum of immigration opened last May in a renovated historic warehouse and finally gave Katendrecht a real focal point for visitors.

Formerly part of the world’s largest warehouse for cargo transfer, the museum reflects the fact that millions of migrants arrived at and departed from the port in search of a new life. At its heart is the Tornado, a spectacular mirrored spiral staircase, which offers 360-degree views across the neighbourhood, docks and the city. It symbolises the central theme, with architect Ma Yansong describing it as “a metaphor for the journeys of migrants”.

The industrial space is used sparingly to display photography, art and sculpture that communicate the experience of immigration, movement and displacement of peoples. It’s humbling and moving. The exhibition All Directions features more than 100 artists, with stories of the war in Kyiv and refugee camps in Tunisia, Jordan and Lebanon, as well as a lifesize New York bus made from fabric.

The Family of Migrants exhibition showcases more than 200 photos from around the world, depicting the story of migration from the late 19th century to the present day. And the Suitcase Labyrinth has about 2,000 donated cases, dating from 1898 to today, with 30 audio stories detailing the unique past of some of them.

Farther down the waterfront, the newly opened Nederlands Fotomuseum is also in a renovated warehouse – formerly used to store coffee from Brazil – and is topped with a modern anodised aluminium structure. Inside, the exposed brick, rough-edged concrete and steel girders offer a striking contrast to the impressive photography on display.

The original museum opened in 2003, and the collection now comprises more than six million negatives, transparencies, prints, photo albums and other archival matter – visitors are encouraged to look in the depots and studios. Every week, thousands of images are digitised and made available online, while old and damaged photography is conserved and restored.

On the first floor, the Gallery of Honour of Dutch Photography showcases 99 distinguished photographs, selected by a group of experts, spanning 1842 to the digital era. And as you go up the central staircase, which leads all the way to the rooftop restaurant, a mosaic of projected images merely hints at the breadth and depth of photography in storage.

Where to shop

In the Bay House development, close to the Nederlands Fotomuseum, there are a number of designer fashion and vintage furniture stores. Selected With Love has “upcycled” clothing, Caesar sells designer menswear, while The Gallery by Collectors Network is a space for numerous independent dealers selling vintage design pieces – Vintage Hoarder, for example, has 1980s Belgian floor lamps, a 1970s French slate table and 1960s Italian dining chairs.

The museum shops offer the best range of unique purchases. Fenix has items created in collaboration with artists and designers as well as chocolates from Rotterdam, slippers from Greece and tea from small family-run plantations in China.

Don’t miss

Verhalenhuis Belvédère is perhaps the best place to get a sense of where Katendrecht has come from. Dating from 1894, the building was originally a cafe then a jazz club – saved from demolition, it became a cultural centre, community hub and exhibition space in 2009.

As part of its cultural programmes, community meals and storytelling events, Belvédère collects and shares the stories of Rotterdam residents, from the first Cape Verdean migrants to Jewish families and Chinese seafarers.

Where to stay

Of Hotel New York’s 72 rooms, the suites in the former offices of the Holland-America Line’s directors, overlooking the Nieuwe Maas river, and the two tower rooms are the ones to book. Rooms from €110.

On the western tip of Katendrecht, the former cruise ship SS Rotterdam is permanently moored and is now a 254-room hotel that retains much of its original styling, with wood panelling throughout, and the public spaces – bars, restaurants, theatre – are like stepping back in time. Tours are available. Rooms from €73. The five-star Eurostars hotel is expected to open in the autumn, next door to the Nederlands Fotomuseum and right by the Rijnhaven metro station, which connects easily to Rotterdam Centraal train station.

The trip was hosted by the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions

Despite risks in the Strait of Hormuz and Black Sea, seafarers from the Philippines are still competing for jobs.

Manila, Philippines – Monsoon rains may have forced schools to shut down and suspended government services in the Philippine capital last week, but applicants at shipping companies and employment agencies still formed long lines that snaked around street corners.

The rain was the least of their worries. They were taking the first step on a journey that would take them to increasingly treacherous waters – and they say they are fully aware of the risks.

Gerald, a veteran sailor, was sorting out some last-minute paperwork for his next deployment next week. He is going to board the same ship he was last on – a cargo vessel off the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. The last time he was there, he was stuck for two months. He was due to return to the Philippines when the United States and Israel launched air attacks on Iran in late February.

“There was one missile that flew over. The navy intercepted it right when it was above us, so we hid,” recalled Gerald, who asked for his full name not to be used to protect his job. “We knew fragments could land on our ship. But what can we do? There was nowhere safe.”

He said he had never had to face and fear and uncertainty in 15 years as a commercial seafarer. As the US-Israel war on Iran spread across the region, effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, he and his stranded colleagues for weeks watched projectiles from both directions blow up mid-air. Shrapnel mostly ended up in the water, but the crossfire prevented their usual rations from coming through. They had to brave the danger and fish on the deck to survive.

But none of that has deterred him – not even the on-and-off diplomacy between Washington and Tehran.

“I was able to save enough to buy a property after just two years of sailing,” he said. “I was able to build a house for my parents.”

The sea had always been a source of food and income for Gerald. He grew up in a fishing village. And while he says he was never hungry, sailing in waters beyond his hometown changed his life.

“This job has provided me with a decent income. And it’s the only job I’ve known for a long time. I can’t just go into business or farming. That’s easier said than done,” he said.

‘If I die, my family will be set for life’

At the height of the war in March, nearly 20,000 sailors on 1,500 ships were trapped in the Strait of Hormuz. At least 17 have been killed in attacks since then.

The Philippines supplies more than a quarter of the world’s seafaring workforce. Among the 6,000 sailors currently stranded in the waterway, approximately 2,500 are Filipinos, according to data from the International Maritime Organization in July.

But even when the US and Iran struck an interim deal in June to end the war, there was no mass repatriation of Filipino sailors. The Department of Migrant Workers said more than 60 have since returned home from the Gulf, but most Filipinos on vessels that have been able to transit the Strait of Hormuz remain on board.

Alberto Lobaton was also due to return to sea and was staying at the same apartment complex near Manila Bay where Gerald was. The place has served as a halfway house for seafarers for years and was fully booked despite escalating maritime conflicts.

In addition to the conflict in the Gulf, there has been an increase in attacks on merchant vessels in the Black Sea as the war between Russia and Ukraine intensifies. In July alone, 35 ships were struck, and more than 20 sailors were killed, including at least three Filipinos.

Lobaton witnessed one such strike last year.

“I felt the ship shake because the explosion was so close. It was just around 300 metres (984 feet) away; I was in our quarters, but those who were on duty that night stood up and ran,” said Lobaton.

The Philippine government has appealed to shipowners to avoid high-risk areas or disembark their Filipino crew. It’s also reminded Filipino sailors they have the right to refuse to sail.

Lobaton says it would be a lie to say he is not concerned for his safety, but the financial rewards outweigh the risk of injury or death.

“If I die, my family will be set for life because we are insured. So if something were to happen to me, I’d prefer it happened while I’m at work at sea.”

Sailors on board a Thai cargo ship that was hit by a deadly attack in the Strait of Hormuz are suing the ship’s owners, claiming they ignored warnings issued by Iran. Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng has the story.

The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) has suspended plans to evacuate more than 11,000 sailors stranded in the Strait of Hormuz after a cargo ship transiting the waterway was struck by a projectile.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said several crews had already been evacuated, but the agency had decided to pause the operation until there were “necessary safety guarantees” for those involved.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a Royal Navy maritime security agency, said on Thursday that a cargo vessel had been struck by “an unknown projectile” about 7.5 nautical miles (14km) southeast of Dahit, Oman. No casualties were reported.

The incident comes despite a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the United States and Iran last week that ended hostilities and included provisions aimed at reopening the strategic waterway. Iran had restricted passage through the strait in early March after the US and Israel attacked it on February 28. In April, the US imposed a naval blockade on Iran-linked vessels trying to pass through the waterway.

Since the MoU was signed, commercial traffic has restarted through the strait, but key disagreements remain over which shipping routes vessels should use — and whether Iran gets to charge a toll or fee.

Oman and the IMO have proposed a new shipping corridor that would partially bypass waters under Iran’s direct control. Tehran has rejected the plan, saying it was announced without consultation and raises safety concerns while demining operations are still under way. While Iran has not claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack on the ship off Oman, it has not denied any role, either.

The latest attack has heightened concerns that tensions over navigation through the strait remain unresolved. Here’s what we know.

Why is the UN evacuating sailors?

Following the outbreak of the US-Israel war on Iran on February 28, Tehran and Washington imposed counter restrictions on the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving thousands of seafarers unable to leave vessels trapped in the waterway.

More than a dozen sailors have also been killed in attacks on ships — some from American missiles, others from Iranian projectiles. Most of those killed were from India.

Even with last week’s agreement between Washington and Tehran to end the conflict, more than 11,000 sailors remain stranded in the strait.

Announcing the evacuation plan on Tuesday, the IMO’s Dominguez said the operation would be conducted in “close cooperation with Iran, Oman, all other coastal states in the region, the United States and the maritime industry”.

Oman’s Ministry of Defence said the operation, which had been under discussion for months, would be carried out in phases.

Denmark also announced on Tuesday that it would join a multinational maritime mission led by France and Britain to help restore safe navigation through the strait.

Why was the ship attacked?

The Singapore-flagged cargo vessel Ever Lovely was struck by what authorities described as an “unknown projectile” while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.

Ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic showed the vessel had been following the southern shipping route proposed by the IMO earlier that day, a corridor that passes closer to Oman’s coastline and has been rejected by Iran.

Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said the vessel had since completed its transit through the strait and was continuing its voyage, adding that all 21 crew members were safe.

The authority said it was “deeply concerned” by an attack it described as “unprovoked, unjustifiable, and a breach of international law”.

“All actions affecting international shipping must fully comply with international law, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and not endanger the safety of seafarers and ships at sea,” the MPA said.

The incident prompted the IMO to suspend its planned evacuation of stranded sailors. Dominguez said the Ever Lovely “did not transit under IMO’s evacuation framework”.

“I have always reiterated that the safety of the seafarers remains paramount. Therefore, to ensure a coordinated approach and navigational safety, the evacuation plan will be paused until further clarity is obtained,” he said.

What has Iran said?

While it remains unclear if the attack was carried out by Iran, the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had criticised the new shipping corridor announced by Oman and the IMO, while also warning that passage through the strait, “is only possible via routes announced by Iran,” the state broadcaster IRIB reported.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, has said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz cannot be guaranteed for vessels transiting “with ambiguous arrangements, parallel routes, or decision-making outside of Iran’s considerations as the coastal state”.

“Any credible framework must be based on coordination with Iran and the provisions of paragraph five of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,” he said in a statement on X. “Otherwise, the outcome will be the suspension of the designated parallel route.”

Iran first published its own map of approved navigation routes in April, directing ships to sail much closer to the Iranian coastline than before the conflict.

The IRGC’s latest warning came after a Liberian-flagged oil tanker transited the strait on Thursday using a route closer to Oman’s coast.

On Friday, a further three foreign oil tankers that attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz “without authorisation” were turned back after a warning from the IRGC, Iranian state TV reported.

Analysts say control over the Strait of Hormuz has long been one of Tehran’s most important sources of strategic leverage, allowing it to exert pressure on the US, whose economy is inextricably tied to global markets.

Why was the evacuation suspended?

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas said the attack appeared to show Iran was prepared to enforce its warnings over navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, after Tehran insisted vessels using either the Iranian or Omani route must coordinate with its authorities.

“Yesterday, Oman announced new routes for the passage of the ships. But then the IRGC released a statement, saying that whether the ships go through the Iranian or Omani territorial waters, they need to be in full coordination with Iranian authorities,” Atas said.

“And if they violate that, then Iran is going to act accordingly. So the question was whether Iran is going to really act or not?

“The answer is yes. Now, we have seen that a tanker has been attacked by some projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz. The Revolutionary Guards did not claim responsibility but did not deny it either.”

Atas added that Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, had also warned that any shipping arrangements made without taking Iran’s position as a coastal state into account would be unacceptable.

“Perhaps, in the coming days and weeks, we are going to see that the Strait of Hormuz will be one of the main sticking points.”

What other disputes remain?

Under last week’s memorandum of understanding, Iran agreed it would “make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge, for 60 days only, from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa”.

Although the agreement says commercial traffic should resume immediately, it also acknowledges that mines laid during the conflict must first be cleared, stating that “demining by the Islamic Republic of Iran will be instated within 30 days”.

It also provides for discussions between Iran, Oman and other Gulf states over future arrangements for managing navigation through the waterway.

However, the agreement does not specify what will happen after the initial 60-day period.

Last week, Tehran announced it would waive any transit fees during those 60 days while negotiations with the United States continue in Switzerland, raising the possibility that charges could be introduced if no broader agreement is reached.

Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has also suggested Tehran does not intend to return to the pre-war status quo.

“Hormuz will never return” to how it operated before the conflict, he said. The proposal has also faced resistance from the United States and several Gulf states.

Are ships still moving through the strait?

Commercial shipping has gradually resumed, although traffic remains well below normal levels. Before the conflict, between 120 and 140 vessels typically passed through the Strait of Hormuz each day.

According to maritime analytics firm Kpler, 54 verified commercial and energy-related vessels transited the strait on Thursday, down from 70 verified crossings the previous day.

“West-to-East movements dominated, while the Omani Route accounted for the largest share of identified passages. Yet route transparency remains incomplete, with several Dark or Unknown crossings recorded.

“A reported projectile strike on a cargo vessel southeast of Dahit, Oman, adds fresh operational risk, underscoring the gap between improving physical flows and still-fragile maritime security conditions,” Kpler added.

Following the start of the US-Israel war on Iran on February 28, Tehran had effectively closed off the strait, leaving vessels stuck. 

The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) has begun evacuating more than 11,000 sailors stranded in the Strait of Hormuz following the memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Iran to end the US-Israel war on Iran.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement on Tuesday that the operation would be carried out in “close cooperation with Iran, Oman, all other coastal states in the region, the United States and the maritime industry”.

“We have secured the necessary safety guarantees and have thoroughly verified the conditions for safe navigation to support these operations,” he said.

Following the start of the US-Israel war on Iran on February 28, Tehran had effectively closed off the strait, leaving vessels stuck on the waterway.

But shipping traffic has increased since the signing of the agreement last week, with the Kpler shipping intelligence agency reporting that at least 36 commercial vessels passed through the strait on Monday, a record level of traffic since the war began.

According to Oman’s Defence Ministry, the evacuation process under the IMO plan, which has been under discussion for months, will be phased.

“Given the elevated risk of collision in the current environment, a gradual and controlled evacuation of vessel traffic is required,” it said.

Denmark announced on Tuesday that it will join an international maritime mission set up by France and Britain to help reopen the crucial waterway.

Reporting from the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi explained that talks between the US and Iran on a peace deal have gotten “a little bit better”.

“Today, we’ve got a joint statement by the Omani and Iranian sides saying they are talking about mechanisms to reopen trade through the Strait of Hormuz. This is a positive indication,” he said.

“However, it remains to be seen how long it’s going to take for the strait to reopen, and until then, we see hundreds of ships stranded on both sides of Hormuz.”

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and reiterated that Iran would not be allowed to charge tolls in the strait under any final deal with the US.

“It’s an international waterway. No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway,” he said, adding that he believed “all the countries in this region would agree”.

Tehran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, had earlier insisted the Strait of Hormuz “will never return” to the pre-war status quo, despite the foes agreeing to set up communication lines to keep it open.

The UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) is set to evacuate more than 11,000 sailors who have been stranded in the Gulf because of the US-Israel war against Iran.

IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez said the “large-scale operation” would be carried out in cooperation with Iran, Oman, the US, other coastal states in the region and the maritime industry.

“We have secured the necessary safety guarantees and have thoroughly verified the conditions for safe navigation to support these operations,” he added.

An interim deal was signed last week to end the conflict, but both the US and Iran continue to clash on details of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The US has said the MoU includes guarantees that Iran’s nuclear weapons programme will come under inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

US President Donald Trump posted on social media on Tuesday: “Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!). This will insure ‘Nuclear Honesty.'”

Shortly before Trump’s post, Iran said the UN watchdog would not be able to inspect nuclear sites bombed by the US and Israel last year.

In response, a US official said: “the Iranians have agreed to robust IAEA inspections of the remains of their nuclear weapons programme. The Iranian regime will say what they have to say for their domestic audience.”

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said during a visit to Pakistan on Tuesday that Iran “will never negotiate with anyone, under any circumstances, ever, about our defensive capabilities”.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a tour of the Gulf on Tuesday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and will also visit Kuwait and Bahrain – which both host US military bases – to discuss the deal with Tehran.

The secretary of state warned on Tuesday that no country is allowed to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has been pushing to charge ships passing through.

“It’s an international waterway. No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway. That’s existing international law,” he said as he arrived in the UAE.

“I don’t think we have anybody to convince around here in that regard. I think all the countries in this region would agree with us.”

A US strike on an oil tanker accused of transporting Iranian oil has killed three Indian sailors. It was the second attack in three days on a ship carrying crew members from India.