More ships than ever are being abandoned around the world by their owners, according to the United Nations' labor and maritime organizations, leaving thousands of workers stuck on board without pay or the means to travel home to their families. Cases have doubled in the past three years, impacting more than 3,000 seafarers across some 230 ships in 2024, per an AP analysis of UN data. Last year's figures could rise even further, given the time that can elapse before vulnerable, frustrated workers reach out to report their plight. By international guidelines, workers are considered abandoned if shipowners fail to pay two or more months of wages, provide basic supplies, or otherwise stop communicating with the crew.
"The only leverage seafarers have sometimes is to stay on a vessel until they get paid," said Helen Meldrum, a ship inspector with the International Transport Workers' Federation, which advocates for ship workers' rights. It's a phenomenon rarely visible from shore, and one hitting hardest the smaller shipping companies servicing less-profitable trade routes. Many crews reporting a lack of pay are on corroded ships built decades ago, with the top countries for cases last year including the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. The worst cases have seen entire crews suffering weeks without adequate food or fresh water, or living on dark ships without electricity. Some workers languish on board for years, such as Abdul Nasser Saleh, whom the AP profiled last year in a story exploring abandonment in US ports and abroad.
The AP found that shipowners often stopped paying workers when their costs skyrocketed or business dried up. Owners commonly left ships docked in ports where crews lacked immigration paperwork to step foot on land or at anchorages only reachable by boat. Despite global treaties on labor rights, there are few avenues for holding owners accountable in an industry where ships are often registered under nondescript shell companies and fly the flags of countries unrelated to their operations. Governments and organizations like Meldrum's can report abandoned ships to the UN, which verifies the basic facts and petitions the owner and relevant authorities to find a resolution. "They're essentially imprisoned on these vessels," Meldrum said. "It goes way beyond exploitation." More here.
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