More ships than ever are being abandoned around the world by their owners, according to the United Nations’ labor and maritime organizations, leaving thousands of workers stuck on board without pay or the means to travel home to their families.
Cases have doubled in the past three years, impacting more than 3,000 seafarers across some 230 ships in 2024, according to an Associated Press analysis of U.N. data. Last year’s figures could rise even further given the time that can elapse before vulnerable, frustrated workers reach out to report their plight.
By international guidelines, workers are considered abandoned if shipowners fail to pay two or more months of wages, provide basic supplies or otherwise stop communicating with the crew.
“The only leverage seafarers have sometimes is to stay on a vessel until they get paid,” said Helen Meldrum, a ship inspector with the International Transport Workers’ Federation, which advocates for ship workers’ rights.
Fleet of abandoned ships is growing, leaving more sailors stuck at sea
This combination of photos provided by the International Transport Workers’ Federation shows conditions on board the Sister 12, a cargo ship whose workers say they haven’t been paid in more than a year.
This combination of photos shows conditions on board the Sister 12, a cargo ship whose workers say they haven’t been paid in more than a year.
It’s a phenomenon rarely visible from shore, and one hitting hardest the smaller shipping companies servicing less profitable trade routes. Many crews reporting a lack of pay are on corroded ships built decades ago. The top countries for cases last year were the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The worst cases have seen entire crews suffering weeks without adequate food or fresh water, or living on dark ships without electricity. Some workers languish on board for years, such as Abdul Nasser Saleh, whom the Associated Press profiled last year in a story exploring abandonment in U.S. ports and abroad.
