The international seafarers’ trade union, Nautilus, says that abandonment of seafarers by shipowners is on the rise and that last year was the worst on record.
At the end of 2022, according to an article in its magazine, Telegraph, 103 ships were abandoned, which affected 1,682 seafarers.
“Abandonment places a terrible strain on seafarers and their families, from the uncertainty about when a loved one will return home to the financial chaos when a seafarer cannot leave a vessel to find work. The problem seems to be getting worse,” according to Nautilus, which says that cases of abandonment of ships and crews have often been driven by world events.
“The Covid pandemic and conflicts, including the war in Ukraine, have led to an uptick, however, the steady growth over the years suggests that the problem is driven by poor behaviour. It is also clearly a global failure; cases are reported in 106 countries and 85 Flag States worldwide.”
According to the United Nations Maritime Agency, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), abandonment occurs when a shipowner “fails to fulfil fundamental obligations to seafarers including payment of wages and provision of basic necessities such as food, accommodation medical care and repatriation to home. Abandonment is considered to have occurred when the ship’s Master has been left without the financial means to operate the vessel.
