India, Aug. 17 -- Fourteen merchant ships were trapped in the Great Bitter Lake when the Suez Canal shut in June 1967. They remained there for eight years. The crews improvised, printed stamps, and even held the Bitter Lake Olympic Games. That story should be read as a reminder. When narrow waterways close, ships stop moving. But crews do not disappear from the problem.

The International Maritime Organization last counted about 6,000 seafarers aboard nearly 500 ships in and around the Gulf on July 23. India has a direct stake in their safety. It supplies 311,936 of the world's merchant seafarers, second only to the Philippines. Around 23,000 Indians work in these waters. Nine have been killed since the present conflict began in late Febr...