Despite the efforts of trade unions and NGOs, seafarer abandonment is on the rise
While some shipowners acting in good faith try to solve the problem as best they can, for others, crew abandonment is an organised practice. In this April 2019 photo, seafarers work on their ship.
(Sailors’ society/Andy Scaysbrook)
Translated from French by Brandon Johnson
Share this page
While some shipowners acting in good faith try to solve the problem as best they can, for others, crew abandonment is an organised practice. In this April 2019 photo, seafarers work on their ship.
(Sailors’ society/Andy Scaysbrook)
“I didn’t think fate would be so hard on me.” Sahabaj Khan, an Indian seafarer, never imagined that he would find himself in a situation like this. He and three other seafarers spent nearly two years stuck on two ships owned by an Indian company, only a few kilometres from the port of Mumbai. They were without electricity and their ships crawled with roaches. “I began work on 18 December 2018, then in March [2019] I heard that the company I was working for was going through a rough patch. The owner was unable to repay his loans. That’s when things started to get bad,” says the young man. The duty officers left the ships but four seafarers, including Khan, had to stay on board to continue with maintenance. That was the beginning of their ordeal. Khan wouldn’t be able to leave his floating prison until February 2021, and then with only a portion of his wages paid, thanks to the help of the organisation Sailors’ Society.