According to RightShip’s 2022 Seafarer Abandonment Report, upwards of 1,682 seafarers coming from 103 vessels were cast adrift as 2022 became the worst year on record for reported cases of seafarer abandonment.
Key insights from RighShip’s 2022 Seafarer Abandonment Report:
- The 103 vessels and 1,682 seafarers abandoned in 2022 take the total number of recorded abandonments over the last 20 years to 9,925.
- Leading countries for abandonment in 2022 were the UAE, Spain, and Turkey
- Abandonment case disputes are causing unacceptable levels of financial hardship, with the latest data collected by RightShip showing that unpaid monies to abandoned seafarers add up to $40 million USD.
- Cases of reported abandonment have soared from 22 in 2016 to 103 in 2022, with other notable peaks forced by the 2009 financial crash and the 2017 MLC convention.
As RightShip informs, “reported rates of seafarer abandonment show no signs of slowing, with current figures listing 9,925 men and women cast adrift over the last 20 years.”
The research demonstrates that cases of reported abandonment have been on the rise for five consecutive years, with other notable peaks forced by the 2009 financial crash and the 2017 MLC convention.
Most recently the pandemic and conflict-induced abandonments have resulted in a steady uptick, with cases recorded in countries across all continents, led by the UAE, Spain, and Turkey. At the close of 2022, 103 vessels were abandoned, impacting upwards of 1,682 seafarers.
Abandonment case disputes, as revealed by RightShip in February 2023, are still causing unacceptable levels of financial hardship, with the latest data showing that over the last 20 years, unpaid monies to abandoned seafarers adds up to $40 million USD.
According to the IMO’s definition, abandonment occurs when a shipowner is unable to cover the cost of a seafarer’s repatriation and fails to pay wages for at least two months, has left seafarers without maintenance and support, or otherwise severs ties with the crew. In cases of sudden abandonment, these people are left to suffer without food, water, supplies, medicine, and the ability to reach the shore to contact anyone.
"When abandoned on vessels, seafarers are left alone to fend for themselves while corporations avoid their responsibilities. When those who destroy the lives of seafarers also employ them, it is, in all senses, deeply troubling
Steen Lund, CEO, RightShip, said.
According to the report, the rise in ESG compliance regulations means that charterers, bankers, and financiers are increasingly being asked to evidence due diligence when it comes to selecting their partners, with open abandonment cases reflecting poorly on ship owners and managers.
“We already identify vessels guilty of abandonment linked to a company in the RightShip Platform. We cannot and will not recommend them to our customers for voyages and we mark them unacceptable during the vetting process,” added Mr. Steen.
Operators who have little regard for the welfare and human rights of their crew must not be allowed to continue to operate. But we know we can do more, and so can the more than 1,000 ship management companies that have not declared their hand by refraining from completing the Crew Welfare Self-Assessment
During 2021, union ship inspectors recovered more than USD $37 million in unpaid wages owed to seafarers, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has revealed. Specifically, the ITF reported 85 cases of abandonment to the International Labour Organization (ILO), a historic high. In many of those cases, the abandoned crew had already been waiting on several weeks’ or months of unpaid wages.
Finally, the assessment encourages organizations to engage with and improve crew welfare and allows charterers to select vessel owners and managers who have made public commitments to high crew welfare standards. As of early 2023, RightShip received Crew Welfare Self Assessments from 226 DOC (Document of Compliance) holders covering over 6,150 vessels.
In a recent podcast by the Operational Maritime Law, David Hammond, Human Rights at Sea, CEO, and Professor Steven Haines, University of Greenwich and Honorary Trustee, discussed the protection of human rights at sea, focusing on what can be done about the plight of abandoned seafarers.
According to Mr. Hammond, seafarers abandonment “is usually triggered by the owner having limited financial capabilities. Banks calling in loans, unable to pay those money, and therefore they effectively ditch their assets. And those assets are the vessels and the crew on board.”
Source: Safety4sea
