Abandoned Seafarers: What Happens, Your Rights, and Who Can Help

A Problem That's Getting Worse, Not Better

Abandonment — where a shipowner stops providing wages, food, fuel, or repatriation for crew, often disappearing entirely — might sound like a historical problem solved by modern regulation. In reality, the joint ILO/IMO database on abandonment of seafarers has recorded increasing numbers of reported cases in recent years, with the ITF describing recent years as having seen record numbers of abandoned seafarers reported globally. Crew can find themselves stuck aboard a vessel in a foreign port for months, sometimes longer, with no pay, dwindling supplies, and no clear route home.

What Counts as Abandonment

Under the MLC 2006 (as amended), abandonment is generally defined as occurring when a shipowner:

• Fails to cover the cost of the seafarer's repatriation, or
• Has left the seafarer without necessary maintenance and support (food, accommodation, water, fuel for survival, medical care), or
• Has otherwise unilaterally severed ties with the seafarer, including failure to pay contractual wages for two months or more

It doesn't require the company to have formally declared bankruptcy or disappeared completely — sustained non-payment and failure to support crew can meet the definition even if the company is still nominally operating.

What the MLC Requires (And Why It Doesn't Always Work in Practice)

Mandatory Financial Security Since 2017

Following amendments that came into force in 2017, shipowners are required to carry financial security — typically insurance — specifically to cover abandonment, including outstanding wages (up to a defined cap), repatriation costs, and essential needs while the situation is resolved. Vessels are required to carry a certificate showing this cover is in place, and it should be displayed onboard.

Flag State Responsibility

The flag state is responsible for ensuring the financial security requirement is met and for facilitating repatriation if a shipowner fails to do so. In practice, flag state responsiveness varies considerably — one of the trust issues covered in our piece on why the maritime industry has a trust problem.

Port State Role

The port state where an abandoned vessel is located also has obligations — including, in some cases, facilitating crew welfare and repatriation even where the flag state is slow to act, particularly where crew health or safety is at risk.

What to Do If You're in This Situation

• Contact ISWAN's SeafarerHelp immediately — available 24/7, free, confidential, and able to liaise with flag states, P&I clubs, and other organisations on your behalf
• Contact the ITF — if there's an ITF inspector in the port, or contact the ITF directly; the ITF has extensive experience specifically with abandonment cases and direct relationships with the organisations that can act
• Document everything — dates of last payment, communications (or lack of them) from the company, the vessel's flag and any insurance certificates onboard showing abandonment cover
• Contact the vessel's P&I Club if known — the financial security requirement is often provided through P&I cover, and the club may be obligated to respond even if the shipowner isn't
• Reach out to local welfare organisations — the Mission to Seafarers, Stella Maris, and Sailors' Society have direct experience supporting crew through exactly this situation, including practical needs like food and communication while a resolution is sought

The Reality Check

Abandonment cases can take weeks or months to resolve even when every mechanism works as intended — which is part of why immediate welfare support (food, communication, medical care) matters separately from the longer process of recovering wages and arranging repatriation. No seafarer should assume abandonment “couldn't happen to them” based on the size or reputation of a company; cases have affected crew on vessels operated by companies that appeared, from outside, to be functioning normally until payments simply stopped.