Image courtesy ITF Global
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has accused Dubai-based Middle East Marine LLC of systematic abuse and neglect of over 100 seafarers, calling the situation “the worst case of serial seafarer abandonment ever seen” and a stain on the global maritime industry.
The ITF has urged the United Arab Emirates Government and the Palau maritime authorities to intervene, uphold international maritime and human rights law, and alleviate the plight of these seafarers.
The ITF has reported over 17 abandonments across 18 of the company’s vessels since November 2022. It says seafarers hailing from India, Indonesia and Myanmar have been subjected to clear violations of human and labour rights, including inhumane conditions like unclean drinking water, food scarcity, withheld passports and medical supplies, denied hospital visits for sick crew members, and unpaid salaries.
“Seafarers’ lives are not collateral for any company,” said Steve Trowsdale, ITF’s Inspectorate Coordinator. “We are extremely concerned about the welfare of the crews affected by Middle East Marine’s woeful business and the sheer scale of the abandonments.”
Seafarers have been enduring these harsh conditions for an extended period, with one Indonesian seafarer disclosing that he hasn’t been paid for over three months, while some colleagues have remained unpaid for up to seven months. The company has failed to provide basic provisions and fresh water, forcing the crew members to resort to fishing for survival. The seafarers are battling depression, and their families back home are accumulating debt to cope with the situation, according to the ITF.
The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, mandates that seafarers should be paid at least once a month. Crews who are owed two months or more of wages or are not provided with sufficient food, water and fuel are deemed to have been abandoned. This situation should prompt action from insurers and the ship’s Flag State – the country of ship registration – in this case, Palau. However, the ITF has yet to receive any response from the Palau maritime authorities despite the urgency of the situation.
“It’s hard to comprehend how a company registered in the UAE can behave like this with impunity. Middle East Marine is a stain on the global maritime industry,” said Trowsdale.
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