Indian Seafarers Lead Global Abandonment Toll as Record Crisis Leaves Crews Unpaid and Stranded

899 Indian Seafarers Among Those Abandoned in 2024

Indian seafarers accounted for 899 of the 3,133 crew members abandoned worldwide in 2024, the largest number of any nationality for the second consecutive year. Across the shipping industry, workers were left without wages, adequate supplies or a way home while governments, shipowners and courts struggled to resolve their cases.

The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) recorded an 87% increase in abandoned seafarers from the 1,676 counted in 2023. The number of abandoned vessels rose even faster: 312 ships were affected in 2024, an increase of 136% from the previous year.

Indian nationals made up nearly 29% of the abandoned workers. India is the world's second largest supplier of commercial ship crew, with tens of thousands of its citizens working aboard vessels around the globe. Its prominent place in the workforce also puts large numbers of Indian households within reach of the crisis.

More than $20 million in wages was owed to abandoned seafarers in 2024, with only about half recovered. For workers who had already paid recruitment or training costs, missing salaries meant losing both their income and the money they had invested in getting a job.

As of August 19, 2025, the human cost extended from a cargo ship in Ukrainian waters to vessels stranded near Saudi Arabia and in the United Arab Emirates. Some crews remained aboard because they feared leaving would cost them their unpaid wages. Others faced shortages of food, water and fuel while waiting for legal decisions to produce practical help.

Steve Trowsdale, the ITF's Global Inspectorate Coordinator, described the situation in blunt terms:

an absolute disgrace

Trowsdale blamed unscrupulous shipowners and a lack of action by governments and international regulators. The ITF's report to the International Maritime Organization identified failures in enforcement, insufficient insurance and shipowners refusing to accept responsibility.

When Does a Crew Count as Abandoned?

The Maritime Labour Convention 2006 defines abandonment through failures by a shipowner to meet basic obligations. Those failures include not covering repatriation costs, not providing necessary maintenance and support, or withholding contractual wages for at least two months.

Repatriation means getting a seafarer home. Maintenance and support include the essentials needed to remain aboard, such as food and water. A crew can therefore face abandonment because the owner stops providing necessities, even while the ship remains in a port where other commercial activity continues.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Labour Organization (ILO) maintain a joint database that tracks abandonment cases. The figures record the scale of the problem, while individual cases show how long workers can remain caught between employment disputes, immigration requirements and decisions about the vessel.

A seafarer may finish a contract yet still be unable to leave because of visa restrictions or documentation problems. Even when a court orders payment or repatriation, carrying out that decision can take months, and wages may never reach the crew.

A Crew Caught in Ukrainian Waters

Indian chief officer Manas Kumar had been stranded aboard the cargo ship Anka in Ukrainian waters since April. Ukrainian authorities raided the vessel on suspicion that it was part of Russia's shadow fleet, leaving Kumar and his multinational crew waiting for their situation to be resolved.

The crew had been told they were free to leave. They hesitated because they feared that disembarking would mean forfeiting more than $100,000 in wages collectively owed to them. Returning home quickly and recovering their earnings had become competing pressures.

Kumar described the urgency of leaving a vessel in a war zone:

This is a war zone. All we want is to return home quickly,

His account shows why permission to disembark may leave a crew facing a painful choice. The unpaid wages represent work already completed, and families may be relying on that money. Remaining aboard preserves the crew's presence at the centre of the dispute while prolonging its exposure to danger and uncertainty.

Six Months Near Jubail and a Long Wait in the Gulf

Captain Amitabh Chaudhary faced a different emergency aboard the Tanzania-flagged Stratos. The ship struck rocks near Saudi Arabia's Jubail port, leaving him, nine other Indian crew members and one Iraqi crew member stranded for nearly six months.

The shipowner refused to pay their salaries, citing financial losses. During the wait, the crew experienced hunger, fear that the vessel would sink and the strain of not knowing when they could return to their families.

Chaudhary described the psychological pressure and appealed for help:

The mind has stopped working, can't think what more we should do. Can we get some help? We just want to go home and meet our loved ones,

The crew of the Nirvana, an Indian-owned oil tanker registered in Curacao, also faced shortages in the Gulf. They were left without food, fuel or pay while awaiting a settlement ordered by a court. Months later, the wages had still not arrived.

These cases involved different immediate causes: an investigation in Ukrainian waters, a ship striking rocks near Saudi Arabia and a delayed court settlement in the Gulf. The crews nevertheless faced the same practical needs, including food, payment and a route home.

Recruitment Costs Leave Workers Exposed

Indian seafarers can enter an overseas assignment already carrying substantial financial commitments. Many pay large fees to recruitment agents or spend heavily on training certifications, expecting to recover those costs through their wages.

A missed salary can therefore affect more than the current month's household spending. It can also prevent a worker from repaying the cost of obtaining the job. The need to recover that investment makes an unpaid crew member's decision about leaving a vessel especially difficult.

Some seafarers have limited information about the risks or conditions aboard the vessel they are joining. They may not know which ship they will work on until the last minute, reducing the opportunity to examine its circumstances before travelling.

Ship ownership adds another layer of difficulty. The company owning a vessel, the business managing it and the organisation recruiting its crew may be based in different countries. When wages or supplies stop, responsibility can become difficult to trace across those separate organisations.

Why a Ship's Flag Matters

A ship's flag identifies the country where it is registered. Under the arrangement known as a flag of convenience, an owner registers a vessel in another country, often one offering lower costs and limited regulatory oversight.

The practice has expanded in recent decades. The registration system was designed to support international trade, but weak supervision can allow owners to evade labour and safety rules, obscure their identity and avoid accountability when a crew needs help.

The ITF put the share of abandoned vessels sailing under flags of convenience in 2024 at 90%; another figure cited for the year was 81%. Both figures place a large majority of affected ships in those registries.

Panama led the flag registries with 43 abandonment cases, followed by Palau, Tanzania, Comoros, Cameroon and Bahrain. Some vessels had no identifiable flag, making it still harder for stranded crews to determine which authorities should intervene.

The United Arab Emirates was the leading port state for abandonments, with 42 cases, followed by Türkiye. A port state is the country where a vessel is located, while the flag state is the country where it is registered. A ship can therefore be stranded in one country while operating under another country's flag.

ITF President Paddy Crumlin criticised the commercial incentives behind flags of convenience:

The business case is based on registering in countries where there is no accountability and no regulation. There are cases of abandonment, death, exploitation, and failure to pay wages. FOC countries don't have the capacity to regulate, and all they want to do is attract revenues.

For a crew seeking wages or travel home, weak supervision and complicated ownership can operate together. The authorities near the ship, the registry responsible for it and the companies employing the crew may all sit in different jurisdictions.

Families Carry the Cost Ashore

Many abandoned seafarers are the main earners in their families. When their wages stop, relatives at home may fall into debt, struggle to meet basic needs or withdraw children from school.

Sanjay, whose name was changed, was among the seafarers stuck aboard vessels for more than two years. He worked without pay, and family heirlooms were sold to help survive the financial strain.

The crew of the Sunshine 7 in the UAE endured more than 20 months in extreme heat, with inadequate food and no air conditioning. Their experience shows how an employment dispute can become a prolonged struggle to maintain basic living conditions.

Anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress are common among abandoned workers, especially those stranded for months or years. The most severe cases have included suicide attempts. Separation from family, uncertainty about wages and deteriorating conditions aboard can continue long after a contract should have ended.

Legal proceedings add another kind of waiting. A court order can give workers a formal right to payment or repatriation while leaving them aboard until money, documents and travel arrangements are secured. The Nirvana crew's delayed settlement illustrates the gap between a decision and its delivery.

How the Crisis Developed

The figures and individual cases span several periods. Together, they show an increase in recorded abandonment alongside ordeals that can continue for many months:

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, difficulties changing crews left ships stuck in port or unable to rotate workers, contributing to additional abandonment cases.
• In 2023, 1,676 seafarers were recorded as abandoned worldwide. Indian nationals were the largest affected group.
• In 2024, the total reached 3,133 seafarers across 312 vessels. Indian nationals again formed the largest group, with 899 abandoned.
• Since April, Manas Kumar had been stranded aboard the Anka in Ukrainian waters.
• By August 19, 2025, accounts of the crisis included the Stratos crew's ordeal of nearly six months and the Sunshine 7 crew's wait of more than 20 months.

The 2024 increases covered both people and ships: abandoned seafarers rose by 87%, while affected vessels increased by 136%. The growth in vessels was faster than the growth in crew members, widening the number of separate ships requiring intervention.

Financial Pressure Meets Weak Enforcement

Shipping is intensely competitive, and owners face pressure to reduce operating costs. When a business encounters financial trouble, abandoning a vessel can be cheaper for the owner than paying wages, maintaining supplies and meeting the cost of sending the crew home.

International rules provide a framework for protecting seafarers, but enforcement varies. Port authorities may lack resources or the willingness to intervene. Flag registries may place income from registration ahead of supervision, while shell companies and complex corporate structures make it harder to identify who should pay.

Retired Rear Admiral Sanjay Roye described the combination of regulatory and employment failures:

Systemic failures and weak enforcement of international regulations exacerbate the crisis. The shipping industry operates through Flags of Convenience, substandard labor practices, and weak regulatory enforcement.

The pandemic added pressure by disrupting crew changes and keeping ships in port. Those difficulties joined existing problems with ownership, wages and regulation, leaving some workers unable to complete an assignment and return home as planned.

Insurance, Inspections and Calls for Reform

The IMO and ILO have strengthened guidance and require compulsory insurance for shipowners to cover abandonment and related claims. The aim is to provide financial protection when an owner fails to meet obligations to the crew.

The ITF has inspectors in 120 ports worldwide. They respond to calls for help, seek unpaid wages and work to arrange repatriation. International organisations, unions and nongovernmental organisations are also involved, although progress has been slow.

ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton called for governments to take greater responsibility:

The rise in abandonment exposes exploitative practices and lack of global regulation. The solution is clear: better regulation, enforcement, and accountability from governments.

India has faced calls to improve scrutiny of recruitment agencies and the ships on which its seafarers are placed. The Directorate General of Shipping, India's maritime regulator, has been criticised for lax scrutiny. It also says seafarers must check for discrepancies in their contracts before signing on.

The outstanding issues include unpaid wage claims, delayed settlements and crews waiting to leave. No date was given for resolving those cases or completing the proposed reforms.

The Workers Behind Maritime Trade

More than 80% of world trade by volume travels by sea. The ships moving goods and fuel depend on crews whose employment can involve a recruiter in one country, an owner in another and a vessel registered somewhere else.

The 2024 abandonment figures put a measurable cost on failures within that arrangement: 3,133 workers stranded, more than $20 million in unpaid wages and only about half of that money recovered. Indian seafarers bore the largest national share for a second year.

For the workers involved, reform has concrete meanings. It means receiving wages already earned, having food and water aboard, knowing which authority will act and being able to return home when the owner fails to meet its obligations.

The continuing growth of shipping makes those protections more urgent. The cases of the Anka, Stratos, Nirvana and Sunshine 7 show the different ways a voyage can end in prolonged uncertainty, with families ashore sharing the financial and emotional burden.

Key Points

• The ITF recorded 3,133 abandoned seafarers in 2024, up 87% from 1,676 in 2023.
• India accounted for 899 abandoned seafarers, nearly 29% of the total and the largest national group for a second consecutive year.
• Abandonment affected 312 vessels, a rise of 136%. More than $20 million in wages was owed, with about half recovered.
• Panama led flag registries with 43 cases, while the UAE led port states with 42.
• Crews faced missing wages, shortages of essentials, legal delays and waits lasting months or years.
• Compulsory insurance, port inspections and wage recovery efforts exist, but enforcement, recruitment oversight and ownership accountability remain central demands for reform.