Reportage on Japanese Shipowners, No. 16　第16回ルポルタージュ日本船主

“Only Two Weeks of Food on Board: Shipmanagement Companies Caught in the Middle”

「食料保管は2週間、板挟みの船舶管理会社」

“Not all vessels carry food stocks for 40 to 50 days. Some have only around 14 days’ worth of food on board. We would like to replenish supplies in places such as the UAE, but as the UAE is also under attack, the local procurement of food is not proceeding smoothly.”

On the morning of 26 March 2026, an executive at a Singapore-based shipmanagement company spoke to this publication.

In Singapore, sensitivity to vessels staying inside the Persian Gulf west of the Strait of Hormuz is higher than in Japan. Many shipmanagement companies are based in Singapore, and “the distance to vessels feels much closer on the skin”, the executive said.

The executive continued:

“On vessels equipped with Starlink, not only deck officers but also crew members are watching footage of the current attacks from Iraq through news reports and YouTube. Some crew members are asking to disembark, and some are even saying, ‘I never want to sail again.’ This does not mean that they do not want to go to the Persian Gulf. It means that they want to quit being seafarers.”

The full article includes the following points (approximately 3,000 Japanese characters):

→ Some ships have only two weeks of food stockpiled — what is happening on the ground?

→ “I want to get off the ship” — the reality of the widening psychological impact on seafarers

→ Sailing with AIS switched off and on-the-spot judgement — the heavy responsibility borne by masters and shipmanagement companies

→ The gap in temperature between charterers and shipowners — delicate manoeuvring over whether operations should continue

→ Confusion will continue even after the conflict — the possibility of dock congestion and rising freight rates

(Reportage / Japanese Shipowners Reporting Team, published every Friday)

(Please read the rest in the main text, written in both English and Japanese. The Japanese article is published after the English version.)

第16回ルポルタージュ日本船主

「食料保管は2週間、板挟みの船舶管理会社」

　「食料在庫が40日－50日というような船舶ばかりではない。中には14日程度しか食料在庫がない船舶もある。UAEなどで補給したいが、UAEも攻撃されているため現地の食料調達がスムーズに進んでいない」

　2026年3月26日午前、シンガポールに拠点を置く船舶管理会社の幹部が取材に応じた。

　ホルムズ海峡以西のペルシャ湾内に滞在する船舶に関する感度は日本より高い。シンガポールには船舶管理会社の多くが拠点を置いており、「皮膚感覚で船舶との距離が近い」（同幹部）。

　同幹部が続ける。

　「スターリンクを搭載した船舶では航海士だけでなく、部員もニュースやYouTubeで現在のイラクからの攻撃の情報を映像でみている。一部の部員は下船を希望し、『二度と船には乗りたくない』と言ってくる部員もいる。これはペルシャ湾に行きたくない、という意味ではなく、船員を辞めたいという意味だ」

■記事本文では以下の内容を読むことができます（記事全文約3000文字）

→ 食料備蓄がわずか2週間の船も――現場で何が起きているのか

→ 「下船したい」船員の声――心理面に広がる影響の実態

→ AISオフ通航と現場判断――船長・管理会社の重い責任

→ 用船者と船主の温度差――運航継続を巡る微妙な駆け引き

→ 紛争後も混乱は続く――ドック逼迫と運賃上昇の可能性

（ルポルタージュ・日本船主取材班、毎週金曜日配信）

（続きは英語と日本語で書かれた本文でお読みください。日本語の記事は英文記事に続いて掲載されています）