Every year, crews on hundreds of ships report that their wages are late or not paid at all. In the worst cases, the shipowner stops paying for food, fuel and the trip home. The crew is then left on the ship, often far from home.
This guide explains your rights under the MLC (Maritime Labour Convention, 2006) and what you can do step by step. It is for seafarers of any rank and nationality. The information is correct as of November 2026.
When is a seafarer "abandoned"?
Under the MLC, Standard A2.5.2, you are abandoned when the shipowner does one of these three things, the MLC text says:
does not pay for your repatriation (your trip home)
leaves you without necessary maintenance and support, which means food, accommodation, drinking water, fuel to survive on board, and medical care
cuts ties with you in another way, including not paying your contract wages for at least two months
You do not need all three. One of them is enough.
Unpaid wages: act early
The MLC says wages must be paid at least once a month. You must also get a monthly account of what you earned and what was paid. Do not wait many months. The ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) says cases are easier to solve after two months than after nine.
If your salary is more than two weeks late, ask the captain what has happened, the ITF advises. If a promised payment date passes and you still get nothing, contact the ITF for advice. Talk to the rest of the crew too. A claim is often easier when the crew acts together.
Be careful with strikes. In some countries the law works against seafarers who strike. Ask a local ITF inspector or union representative before you take any action.
Collect your evidence
The ITF asks seafarers with unpaid wages to collect as much of this as possible:
ship details: name, flag, IMO number and type of ship
a copy of your employment contract, which shows your wages
the date you joined the ship and your hours of work
the shipowner's name, country and contact details
bank statements that show the last payments and the months with no payment
copies of messages and letters with the company
Keep copies in a safe place, and also on your phone or in your email.
Use the complaint procedures
Under the MLC, every ship must have an on-board complaint procedure (Regulation 5.1.5). You have the right to complain directly to the master. You can also complain to authorities outside the ship. You may bring someone with you to help or speak for you.
You should get a copy of this procedure together with your employment agreement. It must include contact details of the flag state authority. If you live in another country, it must also include the authority of that country. The flag state must forbid and punish any action against a seafarer for making a complaint.
When the ship is in port, you can also complain to an officer of that port state (Regulation 5.2.2). The officer must look into the complaint. If it is not solved on board, the officer must tell the flag state.
Use the abandonment insurance
Since 18 January 2017, ships whose flag state has ratified the MLC must have insurance for abandoned crews. A certificate of this insurance must be posted on board in a place where the crew can see it. It must be in English or come with an English translation.
The certificate gives the name and contact details of the insurer. Check these details now, before there is a problem, the ITF advises. If the shipowner does not help, contact the insurer directly. You, your family, an ITF inspector or a union can make this contact.
Under the MLC, the insurance covers:
up to four months of unpaid wages and up to four months of other entitlements under your contract
your trip home, normally by air, with food, accommodation, medical care and transport of your personal things
essential needs until you get home: food, clothing where needed, accommodation, drinking water, fuel to survive on board and medical care
Do not wait too long. The ITF warns that if you wait six months, you still get only four months of wages. The ITF abandonment page also lists the 24-hour helplines of the large P&I (protection and indemnity) insurance clubs.
Your right to go home
The MLC says you have the right to be repatriated at no cost to you (Regulation 2.5). The shipowner may not ask you to pay in advance for your trip home. If the shipowner does not arrange it, the flag state must do it. If the flag state does not act, the port state or your own country may send you home. That country can then ask the flag state to pay it back.
Who to contact
An ITF inspector or an ITF union. Find them with the ITF Seafarers app or ship and inspector look-up.
ITF Seafarer Support: seafsupport@itf.org.uk for unpaid wages, and abandonment@itf.org.uk if you think you are abandoned. The ITF says you can talk to them in confidence.
The insurer named on the certificate on board.
The flag state authority named in the on-board complaint procedure.
Your own government. Your home country should help you through its consulates, the ITF says.
Indian seafarers can also use e-Navik, the DGMA (Directorate General of Maritime Administration) grievance system. It works 24 hours a day and accepts wage disputes and abandonment cases. Call 1800-889-7768 (toll-free in India) or email enavik.24x7@gov.in.
When you contact the ITF, give your name, rank and nationality. Give the ship name, flag, IMO number and type. Say where the ship is now and where it goes next. Describe the problem briefly and give your phone number and email, the ITF help form says.
Cases like this happen in many ports. Read our report on ten Syrian seafarers stuck on the abandoned ship Militsa in Constanța. See also our report on seven Egyptian seafarers owed wages on a ship in Safaga.
Before you join a ship
Search the ship by IMO number in the ILO and IMO database of abandoned seafarers. The ship name may have changed, so the IMO number is better.
Check the ITF list of current abandonment cases.
Ask if the previous crew was paid. The ITF says that if they were not, you probably will not be paid either.
Get a written employment contract and keep a copy.
Ask for your wages every month. Do not agree to let your wages build up until the end of the contract.
Keep the important phone numbers and emails with you. Our list of useful links for seafarers can help.
Cover photo: the ship Silver Rose (IMO 8403533) moored at the Port of Haifa, Israel, July 2023. Wikimedia Commons describes it as an abandoned ship. The photo is illustrative. Photo: DmitTrix, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
Sources: ILO: Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended (Standards A2.2, A2.5.1, A2.5.2, A5.1.5, A5.2.2), ILO/IMO: Joint database of abandonment of seafarers, ITF Seafarers: Abandoned seafarers, ITF Seafarers: Wages, ITF Seafarers: Abandonment list, ITF Seafarers: Look up a ship, inspector or union, ITF Seafarers: Help form, ITF Seafarers: Your rights, DGMA India: e-Navik grievance redressal mechanism.
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