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Hello, I'm James Reynolds.

Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service.

In BBC conversations, we bring people together to share their experiences.

This time, what's it like to be a sailor in the Strait of Hormuz?

Bordered by Iran to the north and the UAE and Oman to the south,

the Strait of Hormuz is vital to the world's energy needs.

Some 20% of global oil and liquefied natural

gas is usually carried through the narrow corridor by around 3,000 ships a month. But since the

US and Israel attacked Iran, the country has in effect blocked the strait, sending global fuel

prices soaring. Iran has targeted ships in the area. It's estimated that over

20 vessels have been hit and at least eight people killed. In our conversations, we wanted to get a

sense of what it's like to be a sailor navigating the strait of Hormuz. Later, we'll hear concerns

for the seafarers trapped on ships in the region worried about

supplies of fresh water, food, fuel.

Firstly, though, we're going to hear from three people familiar with the area.

Captain John Noble is a former Marine Surveir, who's spent a lot of time in the southern Persian

Gulf.

Tom Sauer is a former US naval officer, and Salmer Cogliano was a deck officer in commercial

shipping. The Strait of Hormuz is one of those narrow little maritime choke points. It's not

quite as congested as the English Channel or the Strait of Malacca, but there's steady traffic

through it. You have a lot of small little craft, dows and fishing vessels there.

...