Maritime Charity Column: The forgotten crisis of seafarer abandonment, by The Seafarers' Charity chief executive, Deborah Layde

As more than 6,000 seafarers worldwide face abandonment, The Seafarers’ Charity Chief Executive Deborah Layde highlights the growing scale of this hidden crisis and explains how the charity’s new film series aims to help seafarers protect themselves, access support and make a safe return home.

MARITIME CHARITY COLUMN

It's often said that seafarers are only in the public eye when something goes wrong. We've seen this play out again this year when 20,000 seafarers were trapped in the Strait of Hormuz due to the conflict between Iran and the United States. But there is another, hidden, crisis facing thousands of seafarers around the world – abandonment. 

2025 was an unwanted record year for abandonment globally. More than 6,000 seafarers are now trapped on their ships, nearly double the year before. This is shocking. According to the Maritime Labour Convention, to be defined as abandoned, seafarers have either not received pay for two months, been refused repatriation, or denied basic provisions. That 6,000 people fit this definition is an absolute disgrace. 

It's also the reason that The Seafarers' Charity has recently launched a new series of films to help people tackle abandonment from ship or shore. Smart Seafaring. A Safe Return looks at what seafarers should do before and during voyages to minimize the likelihood – or impact of – being abandoned. 

A lot that happens in a seafarer's working life is out of their control, but there are some sensible precautions they can follow, and support networks they and their loved ones can access – from making copies of their employment agreements and digging into their vessel's operational history, to being able to stick together onboard with fellow affected crew or sharing their plight through the right channels. We also hope that our films can help prevent seafarers joining ships likely to abandon them in the first place. 

Seafarers go away for months on end to make a living, provide for their families, and often to keep global trade, security and food chains moving. Their contributions are enormous, so let us all remember that one abandoned seafarer is one too many.