wHen Vihan* told his family he would depart from his home in Tamil Nadu, south India, and work on a boat across the Bay of Bengal to nearby Bangladesh, before leaving for several months. After delivering stone cargo to Kutuvidia Island in Bangladesh, Marine Corps engineers were scheduled to descend to India's Tut Kudi port in March 2024.
However, that month, the rusty tag, Navimar 3, operated by Middle East Marine (MEM), was taken into custody by Bangladeshi authorities for unpaid fees. For almost a year, Vihan has been a virtual prisoner on board and he was forced to work unpaid to keep the ship safe amidst the strong currents anchored from the island of Cyclone Bay, he said. I say it. His passport and verification documents are held by local agents at a Dubai-based company. Without a way to get home, without visas or supplies to disembark, he must rely on food and water from charities and unions.
Vihaan, who has 25 years of experience in the industry, says that he was “nothing other than an empty promise” from the Dubai company that he was paid and allowed to leave. Screenshots of increasingly desperate messages between engineers and companies prove this. He wants to meet his wife and 14-year-old daughter, but says he “lost hope with every passing day.” Since his abandonment, his family, which has been dependent on his wages, threatens to swallow 20 years of savings and endangers his daughter's dream of studying to become a military doctor. It's there. His wife had to postpone hospital treatment.
When the Guardian spoke to Vihan earlier this month, he said he was coughing and felt weak and enthusiastic. There are no medicines on board, he says. He continues his work. Because despite everything, he needs to keep his crew and the ship safe. The Maritime Labor Convention defines “waiver” as two months without contractual wages, maintenance and support, or repatriation costs.
Vihaan's case is not quarantined. Thousands of seafarers, the backbone of the world's maritime trade, have been abandoned for what the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) describes as “cancer” in the industry. Cases increased 135% from 132 ships in 2023. Last year 312affects more than 3,000 seafarers according to the joint ITF/International Labour Organization (ILO) Database.
The Middle Eastern region has the most abandoned ships at age 108, with the highest number of port states in the United Arab Emirates, and in 2024 there are 42 abandoned ships in the water. Responsible for the largest percentage of all abandonment. The UAE federal transport authorities did not respond to requests for comment.
Seafans in the ITF/ILO database often have little or no food or dirty drinking water left, but in 2024 a $200,000 (£16 million) wage was unpaid . say. The ITF says things have become so bad for one suffering crew member, and after an unsuccessful attempt to take his life, he was admitted to the hospital.
These seafarers are located on Catch-22. Without a way to go home, they hope that when wage-bearing employers leave the ship, their chances of receiving unpaid wages decrease.
Most abandoned ships sail under the “flag of convenience” countries such as Panama and Palau, the ITF says. This system allows ship owners to register vessels in countries other than their own countries.
An even more disturbing aspect of the industry is the increased risk for seafarers unconsciously caught up in conflict. This was highlighted in November 2023. It was highlighted when a 25-person crew of a freighter, the Bahamas Galaxy Leader, were held hostage by Houtis in Yemen at the start of a campaign for attacks in the Red Sea related to the war in Gaza. They were released after the ceasefire last month.
And in July last year, 16 sailors were abandoned in the conflict zone of Captain Tarek freighter in an Israeli airstrike at Yemen's Hodeida port, killing three people and injured 87 people.
Satya Rahul, Tarek's second officer from Delhi, says he was afraid of his life and the life of his crew. My life was in danger during the strike. I was on a clock mission… because [at sea] We cannot leave any responsibility for others. If something goes wrong, something can happen in all crew lives. ”
Rahul, 31, says he was forced to work for seven months without pay. Tarek's crew, eight Indians, eight Syrians had to live in one liter of water between a portion of noodles or rice and one person's water every day or two, he claims. They had no electricity or fuel, he says. Rahul is currently at home with five other Indian sailors and eight Syrians who sought help from the ITF.
ITF inspector Steve Trowsdale said:. ” Sandra Bernal, ITF's Asia-Pacific Regional Coordinator, dealing with the Vihaan incident, says the ITF has repatriated two separate crews from Navimar, the Palau Formation, to its home country. A third Indonesian crew member boarded this month, Vihan claims.
MEM operates tug boats such as the Navimar 3 via “Bearboat” charters. This allows you to use ships owned by third parties. AD Ports Group, a state-owned organization in Abu Dhabi, is the beneficial owner of Navimar 3 through its subsidiary. The beneficial owner can lease it through a subsidiary, but anyone who effectively controls the vessel. Advertising port It made 13.6 billion According to the account, UAE Dirham (£300 million) was profitable in 2023.
Last month, after pressure from the ITF, Vihaan received his first good news in a year. He received half of the wages owed to him. According to Bernal, he still owes $27,000 (£21,000).
Mohamed Arrachedi, the flag of the convenience coordinator for the ITF's Arab world and Iran, has dealt with many tragic incidents about his career. “We can't normalize abandonment,” he says. “It's immoral and inhuman. It's like modern slavery.”
Since he was interviewed for this work, Vihan has moved to track and field, but is still waiting for his unpaid wages. The Middle Eastern Marines were approached for comment. When contacted, AD Port suggested that the Guardian information was outdated, but has not been able to contact them since. The Guardian also made extensive efforts to identify the owner of Captain Tarek, but was not successful.
*Name has been changed. Seafarers fear retaliation and blacklisting by employers for their remarks
