MUMBAI, April 9 -- A day after returning from the war-torn waters of Iraq, where he was stranded on the Iraqi vessel 'Diva' in the port of Basra, Rex Pereira swore that he would never return to the shipping sector. The traumatised sailor recalled the "scary explosions" near their ships, the frightened crews with bags packed and ready to flee anytime, and their sleepless nights keeping a watch for sudden attacks. He spoke of how he and his three Indian shipmates would record videos of explosions on nearby ships and send the clips, along with updates, to the Indian Embassy. Hailing from Bhayandar's East Indian community, Pereira moved from a job in the airline sector to work as a sailor in October 2025 but ended up suffering harrowing experiences. After returning home on Monday, he recounted these: food shortages, unpotable water, false promises by agents, being sent on discarded ships, the difficulties involved in approaching the authorities, and scared seafarers stuck on various abandoned ships in the war-torn Gulf waters. "There were times when we got food stocks or fish from the crews of passing ships," he said. "At other times, we couldn't even boil the contaminated drinking water because fuel supplies ran low. The Iraqi owners had abandoned their ships but urged us to stay on board by luring us with the promise of a higher salary." Of his six months at sea, Pereira received his promised salary of $300 for only one month. His family had paid Rs.400,000 to an agent for his job. "My son was promised a job on an oil supply vessel and instead was put on some other discarded vessel," said Rex's father Chester Pereira. "The agent didn't even bother to respond during our difficult time. The government should act against agents who make false promises." Pereira said that the day he landed, the Iraqi owners and seniors abandoned the ship. "With only four employees, the ship was operating with minimal maintenance, a dysfunctional engine and a constantly tripping generator," he said. "Once, a part of the ship's engine exploded, resulting in burn injuries on my hand and my colleague's face. Yet another time, the generator completely failed, disconnecting me from my family for four days." As the war on, Pereira said ship owners, he wanted to return home, seized his documents under the pretext of processing paperwork. "The Indian Embassy staff visited but were deterred by the lack of documentation," he said. He approached the Forward Seamen's Union of India (FSUI), which helped Iraqi authorities to process papers. The US-Israel-Iran war, in which three Indian sailors have died and one is missing, has shaken seafarers. FSUI says 22,000 Indians stuck in the Gulf, 20,000 estimate by the International Maritime Organisation. General secretary Manoj Yadav cited distress calls and urged government repatriation....