UAE tops list for ship abandonment

Alamy via Reuters

• 13% of abandoned ships in UAE
• 2024 rate double that of 2023
• Union blames lack of regulation

The UAE ranked at the top of a global list last year of sea vessels abandoned by their owners as a result of there being limited regulations, according to a seaman’s union.

Of 312 vessels abandoned in 2024, 42 – or 13 percent – were in the UAE, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) said.

Abandonment occurs when a shipowner fails to cover the cost of repatriating seafarers (ship’s crew), has left the seafarer without the necessary maintenance and support, or has otherwise unilaterally severed ties with the seafarer, including a failure to pay wages.

“The UAE is a centre not only for seaborne trade but also for shipping company registration, thanks to its free (trade) zones, and permissive tax and asset management policies,” Cameron Livingstone, a maritime lawyer and former seafarer, told AGBI.

“This booming trade economy can mean, almost by default, that seafarers are more likely to suffer an abandonment in the UAE simply because there are considerably more ships entering UAE ports.”

The number of seafarers abandoned by their shipowners globally last year almost doubled to 3,133 from 1,676 the year before, the ITF said. Shipowners owed seafarers a total of $20 million in unpaid wages for the year.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are not signatories to the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), an international agreement aimed at ensuring a minimum level of protection for seafarers in the maritime sector.

“The lack of regulation (in the UAE) is leaving more and more seafarers stranded,” an ITF spokesperson told AGBI.

“The UAE is trying to tackle abandonment with some changes to laws and regulations but there is still a long way to go. The state has also yet to ratify the International Labour Organization’s MLC.”

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The UAE is not alone in the region in this respect. 

Last year Bahrain-flagged vessels were among the most abandoned globally, with 16 vessels — twice the previous year’s amount. The year before the ITF said Saudi Arabia’s Hadi H Al Hammam Group did not pay the wages of workers on eight of its 35 vessels.

Shipowners abandon their vessels and crews for a variety of reasons but it usually comes down to money, unenforceable penalties and opaque ownership structures, according to Livingstone.

“The unfortunate victims are the crew remaining onboard, who often don’t want to leave until they are paid – or simply cannot leave because they cannot afford the flight home,” he said.