Seafarer abandonment cases spike in 2024

Seafarer abandonment cases spike in 2024
Joshua Minchin 13 Jan 2025 https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1152206/Seafarer-abandonment-cases-spike-in...

The IMO/ILO joint database on seafarer abandonment showed 310 cases were reported in 2024

An alarming increase of 118% in cases of seafarer abandonment has been reported to the IMO/ILO database last year, which gave 2024 the unwanted record for the most cases recorded in a calendar year even before it ended

An alarming increase of 118% in cases of seafarer abandonment has been reported to the IMO/ILO database last year, which gave 2024 the unwanted record for the most cases recorded in a calendar year even before it ended

The legal guardian of the vessel Aman getting on board. Mohammad Aisha general cargoship Aman in Egypt Source: International Transport Workers’ Federation Cases of seafarer abandonment have seen a dramatic increase from 2020 onwards.

A HUGE increase in cases of seafarer abandonment was registered in 2024, with 310 cases reported to the International Maritime Organization/International Labour Organisation joint database compared with 142 in 2023.

That represents a 118% increase year on year and gives 2024 the unwanted record number of cases, which it has taken from 2023.

Cases of abandonment have been steadily increasing for some time now. A submission to the IMO Legal Committee by the IMO and ILO Secretariats highlights the relatively low level of abandonment between 2011-2016, when the number of cases ranged between 12 and 19.

But 2017 represented a watershed, when 55 cases were reported. The next two years saw a similar number of cases, before a drastic increase from 2020 onwards.

Although the submission stressed a direct link was unclear, cases have increased greatly since the outbreak of the pandemic. 2020 itself saw 85 cases, followed by 95 in 2021, 109 in 2022, 142 in 2023 and finally 310 cases in 2024.

Of those 310 cases, 125 remained unresolved and a further 41 are “disputed”, meaning the crew has been successfully repatriated but some wages remain unpaid.

International Transport Workers' Federation inspectorate co-ordinator Steve Trowsdale called the increase “wholly unacceptable”.

“It is the consequence of an industry where seafarers are a throw-away commodity paying the ultimate price for the greed of shipowners,” he said.

“The ITF and its inspectors have been working tirelessly to improve reporting mechanisms and understanding of abandonment globally. As a result, we have seen a huge increase in seafarers contacting us directly for support.”