LONDON: Indians are set to be the most abandoned seafarers for a second year running, with 411 Indian seafarers already having been abandoned on ships in less than six months.
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.
ITF, headquartered in London, has shared images of 16 Indian seafarers abandoned on board two vessels in the UAE, operated by the same company, UAE-based AIM Global Shipping & Fuel Supply, where they have been for months without pay, no air-conditioning and low on provisions.Six are on board “Seashine 7”, which anchored at Sharjah. They are owed more than $40,000 in unpaid wages.
Ten Indians are on board “Sunshine 7”, where they are owed $35,000. It has a Tanzania flag and was deregistered in September 2022. On this ship there is no air-conditioning or refrigeration and the generator is turned on for one hour per day. The crews are sleeping on deck because it’s too hot in the cabins. ITF is currently in dialogue with the owner of the vessels.
Of the 116 vessels abandoned so far this year, 75% are flying under so-called flags of convenience (FOC). “Seashine 7” was registeredas a FOC with Palau and Tanzania has also been designated an FOC by the ITF. This is when ships fly a flag of a country other than the country of ownership to avoid being subjected to labour and tax regulations, and some do it to bypass sanctions. The latest additions to ITF’s FOC registry are Gabon and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), both in Africa. Eswatini is a landlocked state and not a member of the international maritime organisation. Gabon saw a 675% increase in its registry in the two years after Russia invaded Ukraine.
ITF president Paddy Crumlin said: “The business case is based on registering in country where there is no accountability and no regulation. We are hearing 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.”
“Indian crewing agents are among the worst for sending seafarers just to be abandoned,” said ITF inspectorate coordinator Steve Trowsdale.
National Union of Seafarers of India vice-president Louis Gomes said Indians taking up such jobs “often have no awareness and don’t even know to which ship they are going. Some pay just to get on board a ship to get a period of service to get certificates.”
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.
ITF, headquartered in London, has shared images of 16 Indian seafarers abandoned on board two vessels in the UAE, operated by the same company, UAE-based AIM Global Shipping & Fuel Supply, where they have been for months without pay, no air-conditioning and low on provisions.Six are on board “Seashine 7”, which anchored at Sharjah. They are owed more than $40,000 in unpaid wages.
Ten Indians are on board “Sunshine 7”, where they are owed $35,000. It has a Tanzania flag and was deregistered in September 2022. On this ship there is no air-conditioning or refrigeration and the generator is turned on for one hour per day. The crews are sleeping on deck because it’s too hot in the cabins. ITF is currently in dialogue with the owner of the vessels.
Of the 116 vessels abandoned so far this year, 75% are flying under so-called flags of convenience (FOC). “Seashine 7” was registeredas a FOC with Palau and Tanzania has also been designated an FOC by the ITF. This is when ships fly a flag of a country other than the country of ownership to avoid being subjected to labour and tax regulations, and some do it to bypass sanctions. The latest additions to ITF’s FOC registry are Gabon and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), both in Africa. Eswatini is a landlocked state and not a member of the international maritime organisation. Gabon saw a 675% increase in its registry in the two years after Russia invaded Ukraine.
ITF president Paddy Crumlin said: “The business case is based on registering in country where there is no accountability and no regulation. We are hearing 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.”
“Indian crewing agents are among the worst for sending seafarers just to be abandoned,” said ITF inspectorate coordinator Steve Trowsdale.
National Union of Seafarers of India vice-president Louis Gomes said Indians taking up such jobs “often have no awareness and don’t even know to which ship they are going. Some pay just to get on board a ship to get a period of service to get certificates.”
