Seafarer abandonment is rising, and Indian workers account for a large share of reported cases. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) says 310 new cases entered the joint IMO/ILO database in 2024, up from 142 in 2023. Separately, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) counted 6,223 individual seafarers across 410 ships in 2025, including 1,125 Indians. These are different measures from different sources—not one directly comparable series.
What counts as seafarer abandonment?
The IMO describes abandonment as a breakdown in the relationship between shipowner and seafarer, marked by an owner’s failure to meet fundamental responsibilities. These include arranging timely repatriation, paying outstanding wages and providing basic necessities such as adequate food, accommodation and medical care. The IMO’s description also covers a master left without the money needed to operate a ship. IMO’s explanation of seafarer abandonment sets out the definition and links to the joint database, which distinguishes resolved from unresolved cases.
ITF’s 2026 account summarizes its criteria as failure to cover repatriation, failure to provide necessary maintenance and support, or severing ties. ITF also includes failure to pay contractual wages for at least two months in its summary of the criteria. That threshold is ITF’s description, not a substitute for the broader IMO account. ITF’s January 2026 report explains its figures and criteria.
How sharply are reported cases increasing?
IMO reported 310 new cases in the joint IMO/ILO database in 2024, compared with 142 in 2023. In a March 2025 update, it also said 63 cases had been reported in the first two months of 2025. That early-year count is a dated snapshot, not a full-year 2025 result. IMO’s March 2025 update reports the annual comparison and urges Member States to improve reporting accuracy, update national contact points and raise awareness of financial-security protections.
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ITF’s separate count shows a rise in the number of people and ships it recorded: it reported 6,223 seafarers across 410 ships for 2025, respectively 32% more people and 31% more ships than in 2024. ITF said it reported 400 of those 410 cases to the joint IMO/ILO database. The overlap is substantial, but the counts are not interchangeable: IMO’s 310 is a count of new database cases in 2024, while ITF’s 2025 figures count people and ships in its reporting.
Earlier ITF figures also show why the unit matters. Its 2025 bulletin reported 3,133 seafarers on 312 vessels for 2024, compared with 1,676 seafarers on 132 vessels in 2023. Those ITF figures are not the same measure as IMO’s annual count of database cases. ITF’s bulletin also reports its own count of Indian seafarers for 2024. Read the ITF Seafarers’ Bulletin 2025.
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| Source and period | What was counted | Reported figure |
|---|---|---|
| IMO, 2024 | New cases in the joint IMO/ILO database | 310, up from 142 cases in 2023 |
| IMO, first two months of 2025 | Cases reported by that point; not a full-year total | 63 |
| ITF, 2024 | Individual seafarers and vessels in ITF’s reporting | 3,133 people on 312 vessels |
| ITF, 2025 | Individual seafarers and ships in ITF’s reporting | 6,223 people across 410 ships |
The distinction is important: one ship can involve multiple seafarers, and the organizations’ reporting coverage and case definitions are not a single consistent time series. A rise in reported numbers documents a worsening reported burden; it does not by itself establish how much is due to underlying incidence versus reporting and coverage.
How many Indian seafarers have been abandoned?
The latest full-year nationality count in the sources here is ITF’s figure of 1,125 Indian seafarers for 2025. ITF identifies Indians as the worst-affected nationality group in that year’s figures.
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For 2024, two sources report different Indian totals. The ILO supervisory comment, drawing on 2024 joint-database data, cites 916 Indians—almost 30% of the total. ITF’s 2025 bulletin reports 899 Indian seafarers stranded in 2024, compared with 401 in ITF’s 2023 figures. These numbers should remain attributed to their respective sources, not averaged into a single total: the underlying reporting and coverage differ. The ILO supervisory comment provides its figure and context.
Why the figures do not match
The ILO figure is tied to data in the joint IMO/ILO database; ITF publishes figures from its own reporting. ITF said it reported 400 of the 410 ships in its 2025 count to the joint database, indicating considerable overlap but not identical coverage. The sources do not establish a single reconciled count for Indian seafarers across the two systems.
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What can seafarers do if an employer stops paying them?
Missed wages can be an early warning sign, according to ITF. A seafarer considering a contract can check available information about the vessel before signing and search the IMO abandonment database. ITF advises using the vessel’s IMO number in a search if its name has changed; checking a vessel’s history is useful information, not a guarantee of safety. The IMO abandonment page provides access to the database.
If abandonment occurs, the case may involve more than a wage dispute: repatriation, food, accommodation, medical care and the costs of keeping the ship operational can all be at issue. The IMO/ILO guidance for port and flag States calls for coordination among relevant States and recruitment services, payment of outstanding wages, repatriation and essential needs such as medical care. It also calls for national standard operating procedures that clarify responsibilities and liabilities when a shipowner fails. IMO/ILO work on seafarer issues outlines this coordination framework.
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ITF reported that USD 25.8 million was owed to seafarers in its 2025 figures and that USD 16.5 million had been recovered and returned to them by the time of its January 2026 release. Those amounts show the scale of wage recovery in ITF’s account; they are not a guarantee that an individual worker will recover wages or be repatriated promptly.
What protections are supposed to apply?
The ILO’s Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC) covers key work and living conditions for seafarers, including wages, repatriation, onboard medical care, recruitment and placement services, accommodation, food, health and safety, and complaint procedures. The ILO says the Convention’s Code was amended in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2025. The ILO’s MLC page describes the standards and amendments.
Having international standards does not, on its own, ensure that a stranded seafarer receives what is owed. The IMO/ILO guidance emphasizes cooperation among States and clear national procedures for responding when an owner fails to meet obligations.
What is India doing about the risk?
India’s Directorate General of Shipping order index lists Order 8 of 2026, titled “Preventive Measures to Reduce Abandonment of Indian Seafarers on Board Foreign-Flag Vessels,” dated 14 May 2026. The listing establishes that an order with this title and date appears on the authority’s index; its detailed requirements and any effect on abandonment are not established here. See the Directorate General of Shipping crew-division orders index.
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