Three Quebec students on internships have been repatriated from the Persian Gulf
Posted March 20, 2026 9:54 am.
Last Updated March 20, 2026 12:46 pm.
Three students who were completing internships on Desgagnés Group vessels currently stranded in the Persian Gulf due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have been repatriated to Quebec.
The interns were aboard the Rosaire A. Desgagnés and Miena Desgagnés, which have been immobilized in the Persian Gulf since the outbreak of war in Iran on Feb. 28.
The decision to repatriate them to Quebec was made “due to the ongoing uncertainty regarding the timeline for implementing security measures that would allow the two vessels to leave the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz.”
The three trainees, who are studying at the Institut maritime du Québec, first took a flight from Saudi Arabia to Europe, from where they were able to continue their journey to Canada.
“Desgagnés is delighted with the resolution of this situation and wishes the trainees a safe return home, thanking them for their resilience during this tumultuous period,” the company wrote in a statement released Friday morning.
No details regarding the trainees’ identities have been disclosed. They and their families wish to remain anonymous “to protect their privacy.”
The Miena Desgagnés and the Rosaire A. Desgagnés were transporting various cargoes to ports in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. They were in the region before the conflict began.
These ships typically serve Arctic communities during the summer navigation season but are deployed to other parts of the world in the winter, Desgagnés said earlier this week.
The company told The Canadian Press that there were no Canadians among the 30 crew members on the ships, which fly the Barbadian flag, as their crews are all composed of foreign nationals.
The war in Iran, which began on Feb. 28 with strikes carried out by Israel and the United States, has disrupted the free movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping lane through which approximately 20 per cent of the world’s oil passes.
Iran insists that the shipping lane is open, but not to the United States or its allies. While some ships have passed through, it has been only sporadically. More than 20 ships have been attacked since the war began.
On Thursday, Canada and some of its allies issued a joint statement expressing their willingness to contribute to efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
