By John Q. Hosedrinker 
A surge in ship abandonments has left over 3,000 seafarers stranded without pay in 2024, double the number from three years prior. Shipowners, often operating smaller vessels on less profitable routes, cite rising costs and dwindling business as reasons for abandoning crews, sometimes leaving them for months without food, water, or electricity. Many abandoned ships are registered in countries with weak enforcement of maritime labor laws, hindering efforts to hold owners accountable. This crisis highlights a critical gap in protecting seafarers’ rights, exacerbated by the use of shell companies and flags of convenience.
Read the original article here
More ships than ever are being abandoned worldwide, leaving thousands of seafarers stranded without pay or a way home. This isn’t just exploitation; it’s essentially imprisonment. Sailors are trapped aboard vessels, often for years, in conditions that range from dire to utterly inhumane. One sailor spent nearly a decade on a cargo ship without pay. This isn’t an isolated incident; companies like Friends Shipping have a pattern of hiring unsuspecting workers, leaving them in terrible situations, and then repeating the cycle with a new crew.
The lack of action from authorities is appalling. Governments often wash their hands of these situations, citing visa issues as reasons to prevent sailors from disembarking, leaving them essentially imprisoned without food or resources. International conventions like the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) are seemingly useless, providing little protection and serving mainly as a tool to extract penalties from vessels rather than prevent exploitation. The public’s indifference further fuels the problem; seafarers remain largely invisible, their plight ignored despite the vital role they play in global trade. Compare the media coverage of a hijacked airliner to that of a ship with a crew held hostage – the disparity is stark.
The lack of legal recourse is a major obstacle. Ship owners hide behind shell corporations and flags of convenience, making it nearly impossible to pursue legal action. Even if a case is initiated, it’s a costly and protracted process with a low success rate. The owners can often simply dissolve their company and start anew before any meaningful action can be taken. This pattern repeats itself; look at the case of the ship carrying ammonium nitrate that blew up in Beirut in 2020. The owner abandoned the vessel and crew, leaving the cargo in legal limbo for years.
The problem isn’t limited to just the crew; abandoned ships often pose significant safety hazards. Tons of potentially hazardous materials might be left on these vessels, waiting for a spark to cause a disaster. The jurisdictional complexities add to the challenge. If a ship is in international waters or moored in a country with significant instability, determining which authority has jurisdiction is nearly impossible, especially considering the international nature of the crew and ownership. Maritime law itself is incredibly convoluted and often inadequate for addressing these issues.
Adding to the grim reality is the prevalence of modern-day slavery in the maritime sector, particularly in the fishing industry. Fishing crews often work in areas with no cell coverage, leaving them entirely at the mercy of their captains. They are lured aboard with promises of work, but find themselves trapped, unpaid, and unable to return home. Injuries are met with continued forced labor, further highlighting the systemic exploitation. The sheer volume of abandoned fishing nets adds another layer to the environmental catastrophe. These nets, often cut free and left to drift, continue to trap and kill marine life, an additional consequence of the industry’s negligence.
Even during the pandemic, the plight of seafarers continued, with hundreds of thousands stranded at sea. The lack of care from both ship owners and governments has led to these persistent crises. Desperate situations might even lead sailors to consider drastic measures like sinking their vessels—a desperate gamble hoping that existing procedures for rescuing people at sea might offer a better outcome than remaining stranded indefinitely. Yet, this risks criminal charges and leaves sailors in further danger. The sailors themselves are often in a nearly impossible situation. Even if they could get a ship moving, they lack the necessary skills to navigate and maintain the vessel safely, and securing fuel is another considerable hurdle. Further, many face legal barriers to even stepping onto land.
The situation is dire, requiring a multifaceted approach. Increased international cooperation to enforce existing regulations, improved transparency in the maritime industry, and a fundamental shift in public perception are all crucial. Until the world recognizes the humanity of seafarers and holds irresponsible ship owners accountable, this heartbreaking cycle of abandonment and suffering will likely continue.