Sinokor Group, the world’s largest owner of supertankers, is trying to convince its crews to sail through the Strait of Hormuz by offering six extra monthly salaries to those who agree to make the perilous journey, according to Bloomberg news agency.

According to a document distributed late last week and seen by Bloomberg, the offer is for a round trip to pick up oil from Saudi Arabia or Iraq and offload it in the Gulf of Oman.

The company estimates that the total travel time will be approximately one month. The proposal brings seafarers face to face with an extremely difficult dilemma: a particularly high financial reward, but also the increased risk to their lives, highlights Bloomberg.

The highest paid person on a tanker is usually the master, who also has the final say on navigational decisions. According to executives at two shipping companies, his earnings on oil tankers can reach $15,000 a month.

By contrast, a junior seaman is normally paid about $1,500 a month, according to a shipping company executive.

Seafarers have the right to ask to be removed from the ship and replaced if they do not wish to travel to a high risk area.

Whether sailors are prepared to make the journey has come under renewed scrutiny after at least two crew members died in attacks last week and another merchant ship was abandoned by its crew on Monday. The offers to pay additional fees were made after these fatal incidents.

“Some companies are offering huge bonuses to their crews,” said Capt. Pradeep Chawla, president of GlobalMET, an organization that works with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to educate and train seafarers, without specifically mentioning Sinokor’s offer.

“We have information that a large number of seafarers are choosing to disembark, however companies are still finding people willing to undertake the journey,” he added.

Sinokor has developed into one of the major players in Middle Eastern oil transport, having managed to build the largest fleet of very large tankers (VLCCs) in the world, with the support of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company.

The company plays a key role in the oil exports of the countries of the region, mainly transporting cargoes from the United Arab Emirates, but also from Saudi Arabia and Iraq.