Seafarer Abandonment in 2025 Reaches Alarming New Heights

New figures from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) have confirmed an escalating humanitarian crisis: seafarer abandonment cases have surged again by a staggering 30% in 2025, leaving thousands of maritime workers stranded without pay, food, or a home.

At least 2,286 seafarers across 222 vessels have been abandoned so far this year alone—men and women who were offered jobs, but instead found themselves effectively kidnapped, exploited, and discarded. These victims represent $13.1 million in stolen wages, leaving hundreds of shattered families waiting for breadwinners who may never return, and mariners facing starvation and disease on vessels that have become their prisons.

To put this in perspective, 2024 was already considered the worst year on record for seafarer abandonments, with 1,838 seafarers affected and $11.5 million in unpaid wages. With 2025 already surpassing these figures by a significant margin, some have suggested the crisis represents a greater comprehensive breakdown of global maritime labor protections.

“We are seeing a pattern of abuse that cannot be ignored and that must be confronted,” stated Steve Trowsdale, the ITF’s Inspectorate Coordinator. “Every single case of abandonment is a disgrace. It’s an intentional abuse of human rights, and the failure to end abandonment exposes a systemic problem in the maritime industry.”

Where Crisis Strikes Hardest

The geography of seafarer abandonment reveals troubling patterns. Arabic countries account for an alarming 37% of all abandonment cases in 2025. Europe follows closely with 34% of cases, with Turkey emerging as a particular hotspot after its failure to ratify the Maritime Labour Convention, the international standard designed to protect seafarers’ rights.

“In recent years, the [Persian] Gulf region, and the [United Arab Emirates] in particular, has seen a huge increase in seafarer abandonment cases. Both there and in Europe, much more must be done to crack down on the rogue shipowners…” Trowsdale commented.

The Flags of Convenience

The Flags of Convenience (FOC) system lies at the core of the issue, a legal designation that has become a tool of exploitation. 

FOC countries allow shipowners to register vessels while offering minimal taxes, low labor standards, and secrecy over ownership – meaning seafarers on FOC ships often face low wages, long hours and unsafe working conditions. More than 50% of the modern world fleet and nearly 75% of abandoned vessels are registered to FOCs.

This system allows shipowners to register their vessels “on paper” in these “paper jurisdictions” with lax regulations and minimal oversight. Under this system, seafarers may have little recourse if vessel owners decide to walk away from their responsibilities.

“The Flags of Convenience system is parasitic…” stated Trowsdale. “It allows shipowners to hide behind “paper jurisdictions” while seafarers are left abandoned on rusting hulls.”

The Human Causes and Cost of Abandonment

Under international law, abandonment occurs when seafarers are:

• Denied pay for two months or more, 
• Left stranded without means to return home, or 
• Deprived of basic necessities, such as food and medical care.

Seafarer abandonment is enabled by:

• Inadequate legal enforcement from both the flag and port states, 
• Insufficient vessel insurance, and/or
• Negligent shipowners.

The cost can be measured in lost wages, lost time, lost health, lost freedom, families devastated, careers ruined, and the lost integrity of an industry that depends on skilled maritime workers to thrive. The global shipping industry already faces a severe recruitment and retention crisis and struggles to attract applicants.

The ITF has issued a call to action, urging international regulators, port states, and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), to focus on establishing stronger enforcement, mandatory insurance requirements, and lasting consequences for flag states that enable seafarer abandonment.

“There must be accountability,” Trowsdale warns. “If we allow this exploitation to continue, we destroy the very workforce global trade depends on.”

We at the Herd Law Firm are proud to fight for seamen, maritime workers and passengers in all types of personal injury and death claims. As maritime personal injury attorneys (and sailors ourselves!) located in northwest Houston, we never waver in our commitment to help these maritime workers, passengers, and their families when they are injured or mistreated.

7/23/2025

Read the ITF’s statement here.

Sources: www.itf.org