A recent report has revealed Indians are set to be the most abandoned seafarers for a second year running, media reports said.
At least 411Indian seafarers have already been abandoned on ships in less than six months, The Times of India reported quoting the report.
A total of 116 vessels and 1,672 seafarers have been abandoned so far this year, meaning the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is on course to record an even higher number of abandoned vessels than 2023 when there were 129 vessels and 1,983 seafarers abandoned, the highest on record; of the seafarers, 401 were Indian, the Indian newspaper reported.
Jacqueline Smith, Maritime Coordinator at the International Transport Workers’ Federation recently said in a statement: “As an international trade union federation, we work tirelessly alongside our affiliates to advance and uphold transport workers’ rights through collective bargaining and strengthening international and national regulation.”
“We have heard countless stories of seafarers abandoned, unpaid for months or even years, and their rights abused with complete impunity,” Smith said.
Smith said many seafarers are struggling due to wage theft and underpayment.
“The minimum wage for seafarers on flag of convenience ships covered by collective agreements is about $1,700 a month. Seafarers on flags of convenience ships without a collective agreement sometimes sail for $400 to $600. It doesn’t bear to think about the hourly wage this equates to. And even with such low pay, companies still regularly delay or withhold salaries,” the Maritime Coordinator said.
