In the last year, cases have more than doubled; the alarming phenomenon is fueled by the “Shadow Fleet”
Steve Trowsdale :How seafarers are often treated like “disposable goods”. !!
The year that has just ended has seen a new terrible record. In 2024, cases of crew abandonment have more than doubled compared to the levels of 2023, which already set a new record according to Shipping Italy
A new alarming peak
The bar has thus been raised even further, presenting a new alarming peak of seafarers abandoned to their fate that, according to experts, is linked to the continuous increase of the so-called “Shadow Fleet”or “Dark Fleet “
According to data from the IMO
According to data from the IMO, the International Maritime Organization, 310 cases of crew abandonment were recorded in 2024, an increase of 118% compared to the record total of 2023 (142).
Cases of seafarers left in precarious hygienic conditions, often without food and water, on abandoned ships have increased dramatically in the 2020s, first thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic and then, in parallel, with the increase in the size of the “dark fleet”, that is, that group of ships, especially oil tankers, that operate outside international regulations and sanctions imposed by various governments.
These units are characterized by opaque ownership and management, which makes it difficult to identify the true owners and their legal responsibility.
2024 figure is nearly 20 times higher
By comparison, the 2024 figure is nearly 20 times higher than the annual figure recorded a decade earlier. The number of seafarers abandoned last year “alarmingly and excessively” exceeds all previous year’s record numbers, the IMO said in a joint submission with the International Labour Organization to the IMO’s Legal Committee.
“The rising tide of seafarer abandonment must be stemmed,” said Steven Jones, founder of the Seafarers Happiness Index “The good deeds of shipping are being overshadowed by this abuse.
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False flags, dark fleets and turbulence create fertile ground for exploitation. This should be a wake-up call to the entire industry, and we need a system overhaul to protect seafarers and hold abusers to account.”
Steve Trowsdale, inspectorate coordinator for the International Transport Workers Federation, ITF described how seafarers are often treated like “disposable goods”.
Recall, back in May last year, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) reported that the number of such cases had equaled the figures for 2023.
Address seafarer abandonment
Guidelines on how to address seafarer abandonment were adopted by a joint working group of the International Labour Organization ( ILO ) and the IMO in late 2022, although the continued increase in cases of crew abandonment in the two years since demonstrates how difficult the problem is to treat and eradicate.
Repatriation of seafarers
The guidelines set out procedures to be adopted by States in the event that a shipowner fails to meet its obligations to arrange and cover the costs of repatriation of seafarers, outstanding wages and other contractual entitlements and the provision of essential needs, including medical care. In these circumstances, seafarers are considered abandoned.
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