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I've seen Hell: The global crisis of seafarer abuse

The maritime shipping industry employs 1.8 million seafarers

The young seafarers who are lured to dangerous jobs and then abandoned

The practice of relying on flags of comfort is fraught with danger

By Katie McQue

They searched the ship. Pawar said that after two days they had found 450 kg of cocaine in the tank.

Pawar, along with the rest of his crew, were held in Trinidadian jails and interrogated for 15 days. Later, the captain and second-in-command of the ship were prosecuted.

Pawar, then 20 years old, was not charged with any crime because he had no knowledge about the smuggling operation. Pawar was held at an immigration centre for four months, before he was sent back to India.

His farmers parents scrambled for money to get him back home. Pawar had already borrowed $2,400 for recruitment fees to begin what he believed would be a promising career in the sea.

He said, "I felt bad." "I never thought I would be in jail before this happened."

Pawar is just one of the thousands of young sailors who are lured into dangerous and illegal maritime work by recruitment scams, or false job offers. Many are left unpaid, trapped on abandoned vessels or detained for many months.

ABANDONED AT SEA

Around 1.8 million sailors are responsible for the majority of world trade and 90% of all energy.

They are often exploited and forced to work in dangerous conditions, with limited recourse. They are also at greater risk of being abandoned, as shipowners fail to pay wages, cover costs for repatriation, or provide necessary support.

According to the International Transport Workers' Federation, abandonment incidents reached a new record in 2024.

According to ITF representatives, many more cases are likely to go unreported. This is especially true when seafarers find themselves stranded and without the internet or the ability to contact authorities.

The problem only gets worse. ITF data released in May revealed that the number of vessel abandonments has increased by nearly 33% this year to 158, up from just 119 in 2024. ITF has provided assistance to more than 1,500 seafarers.

The practice is largely attributed to opaque company ownership and the use of flags-of-convenience, where ships are registered under countries that have the most lax labor laws and oversight. According to the ITF, popular flags of comfort include Panama, Liberia and UAE.

The Maritime Labour Convention of 2006 (also known as the Seafarers' Bill of Rights) sets global standards of conditions at sea. However, it is largely up to the flag states and the local port authorities to enforce the convention.

Josh Messick is the executive director of Baltimore International Seafarers' Center. The organization provides assistance to seafarers who dock their vessels at the Port of Baltimore, United States. The center also inspects ships to look for signs of non-compliance with the MLC.

"Their time is incorrectly logged." They are not paid for overtime. He said that in a few short months, these workers can lose thousands.

Chirag Bahri is the operations manager for the International Seafarers' Network. Welfare & Assistance Network.

TRAPPED IN DEBT

The seafarers who were interviewed for this article said that they had to pay illegal fees to secure a job, which could be thousands of dollars. These fees are banned by the International Labour Organization and can lock workers into debt bondage. They become more vulnerable to abuse, and less likely report violations.

According to industry insiders, the rise of unregulated companies that manage vessels for owners has also led to abuse.

Cris Partridge said that these companies are run by people who lack technical expertise. He is the managing director of Myrcator Marine & Cargo Solutions, a consultancy based in Abu Dhabi. "They charge a huge fee, take advantage of suppliers and let the ships fall apart."

The UAE is home to many global shipping companies but it hasn't ratified MLC.

Vinay Kumar is a second Indian engineer who has worked on merchant ships. He joined the crew of an UAE tanker in 2019. Kumar claimed that when the company got into financial difficulties, they stopped paying salaries. He and four other crew members were stuck on the tanker for 21 months, three miles off of the coast of Dubai.

We didn't have fuel to run the air conditioner or cook. "We took showers with sea water," said he. "We were slaves."

The crew was forced to rely on charity for survival after a month without electricity. The vessel ran aground in January 2021 during a storm. The men were only allowed to return home after the sale of the ship, and with 70% of the wages they owed.

Kumar replied, "I'm not going to the sea again." "I've seen hell.

(source: Reuters)