Despite being told they were at liberty to leave, the 14-strong crew, including six Indians, two Azerbijanis and six Egyptians, continue to be held on board although they have already spent months there. Foremost among their concerns are unpaid wages, which had climbed to $102,828 by June, according to shipping records reviewed by the global maritime industry. Kumar added that the crew was unaware of the background of the ship and was feeling caught up in a situation beyond their control. "This is a war zone. All we need is to be home fast," he said.
An Indian Seafaring Crisis, Getting Worse
India is the world's second-biggest provider of sailors, but also has the highest number of abandoned seafarers. Abandonment, as defined by the 2006 Maritime Labour Convention, occurs when shipowners cut off contact with crew and do not give them wages, food, or a ticket home.
In 2024, the figure had reached 3,133 abandoned sailors on 312 ships, according to International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) figures. Of these, 899 were Indian nationals. Many cannot afford to abandon ships without pay because they have borrowed heavily to pay training costs or job placement fees. One of the main reasons for that abandoned-ship status, say past mariners and welfare advocates, is the wide use of so-called "flags of convenience." These registries enable shipowners to register their vessels in countries with lax maritime regulations, obscuring true ownership and minimising accountability.
ITF records show that almost 90 percent of abandoned ships in 2024 were flying such flags of preservation of interests of shipowners, who had faced challenges in ditching their responsibilities for ships. What brings a shipowner profit brings the seafarer distress under letters of comfort. If the crews, owners, managers and flag states are spread across different countries, the process becomes even more difficult.
Stories of Struggle at Sea
The example of Captain Amitabh Chaudhary is a stark one. In January 2025, his Tanzania-flagged carrier Stratos stalled near the Saudi Arabian port of Jubail after striking rocks. The crew, including nine Indians, had to wait for around six months before the ship was refloated. The Iraqi owner, meanwhile, said he was incurring losses and won't pay salaries. For weeks, on short supplies, the sailors lived on a diet of rice and potatoes. The crew remains stranded, unpaid and with a future that is uncertain, even after the successful refloating of the ship.
The same problems also take place in the Indian waters. Captain Prabjeet Singh and his 22-man crew were signed on for Nirvana, an Indian-owned oil tanker that flew a flag from Curacao. In April, the old and new owners disagreed over payment of salaries and the ship was seized in Gujarat. The boat quickly ran short of both fuel and supplies, and the crew resorted to burning the wooden ship to cook their meals. While a court eventually allowed the crew to step ashore in July, they were not paid.
A Call for Accountability
Weak enforcement by India's Directorate General of Shipping, which is charged with verifying shipowners and recruitment agencies, is another common refrain among seafarers. But others say crews also need to be more wary before signing contracts. But once caught in this limbo, sailors have few options other than to hope that legal and diplomatic solutions will take months, if not years, to work out.
For legions of stranded sailors, the fight is not just about a missed paycheck but also about staying alive thousands of miles from home upon the open sea. As the stories of Kumar, Chaudhary and Singh illustrate, India's dominance in global shipping exacts a heavy toll on its seafarers — making the case for stronger safeguards and accountability all the more pressing.
