Many cases involve seafarers being denied pay for two months or more, or being left stranded, or left without food or medical support.
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) new figures reveal that 2025, by comparison to 2024, is the ‘worst year on record for seafarer abandonment’ – 172 cases involving 1,838 seafarers and $11.5 million in unpaid wages. And over 2,280 seafarers have been abandoned aboard 222 vessels so far in 2025, with $13.1 million in unpaid wages and a 30 percent year-on-year increase in cases.
37 percent of all abandonment cases in 2025 have occurred in the Arab World – the highest proportion of any region globally. 34 percent have taken place in Europe (majority in Turkiye), and more than double the share of Asia-Pacific, the next highest region. The ITF warned that Gulf states, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and European states, must do more to hold shipowners accountable and prevent abandonment in or near their ports.
Steve Trowsdale, ITF’s Inspectorate Coordinator, said they are seeing a pattern of abuse that cannot be ignored and must be confronted. “In recent years, the Gulf region, and the UAE, in particular, have seen a huge increase in seafarer abandonment cases. Both there and in Europe, much more must be done to crack down on the rogue shipowners who need to know there’ll be consequences.” Trowsdale said every single case of abandonment is a disgrace. “It’s an international abuse of human rights, and the failure to end abandonment exposes a systemic problem in the maritime industry.”
Flags of Convenience
The ITF executive pointed out that abandonment has a specific definition under international law – many cases involve seafarers being denied pay for two months or more, or being left stranded, or left without food or medical support. The figures highlight the structural enablers of abandonment. Trowsdale said that the Flags of Convenience (FOC) system remains central to the crisis. “Vessels registered under FOC states, such as St. Kitts & Nevis (26), Tanzania (26), and Comoros (18) dominate the abandonment lists. These flags offer owners anonymity, deregulation, and immunity from scrutiny at the direct expense of seafarer rights.”
ITF stated that nearly 75 percent of abandoned vessels in 2025 so far are under FOCs – the flag states have routinely failed to enforce international obligations or pursue shipowners who dump their responsibilities at the first sign of financial trouble. Trowsdale described the FOC system as a parasite on the maritime industry. “It allows shipowners to hide behind paper jurisdictions while seafarers are left abandoned on rusting hulls. And when countries enable these crimes by looking the other way, or worse, profiting from them, they become complicit.”
Accountability
As such, the ITF is calling on international regulators, port states, and the IMO to take urgent action. It warned that continued inaction threatens lives and the integrity of the shipping industry itself. Trowsdale said a lack of enforcement and responsiveness from flag and port states, the absence of adequate insurance for vessels, and shipowners refusing to accept responsibility for crew welfare are common factors that contribute to abandonment, and make it harder to resolve. “
“These failures are not just administrative gaps; they are enabling an industry where seafarers are discarded when no longer convenient.” He urged for accountability. “If we allow this exploitation to continue, we destroy the very workforce that global trade depends on.”
