Palau-flagged vessels are in the second place of ship abandonments leaving seafarers also abandoned.
The latest figure released by the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) stated that there had been “alarming” new figures released by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) showing an alarming increase in cases of abandonment during the past year, with 132 abandonments reported.
Vessels flagged in Panama were most frequently abandoned, and Indian seafarers were the most affected nationality. Second is Palau, with 12 abandonments, followed closely by Cameroon-flagged vessels,
Steve Trowsdale, the ITF inspectorate coordinator, said: ‘The ongoing rise in the number of seafarer abandonments is unacceptable. It is a consequence of an industry where seafarers can be a throw-away commodity. Seafarers and their families pay the ultimate price for the greed and non-compliance of shipowners, enduring the inhuman consequences of a system that compromises their well-being, dignity, and basic human rights. ITF inspectors do an incredible job in holding to account those shipowners that try to get away with treating seafarers like some sort of modern-day slaves.’
Under the Maritime Labour Convention, Seafarers are deemed to have been abandoned if the shipowner fails to cover the cost of a seafarer’s repatriation; left seafarers without support, and failed to pay their wages.