For months, Indian sailors have found themselves trapped in perilous situations on international waters as abandoned ships and unpaid wages continue to expose cracks in the global maritime system. One such case is that of Manas Kumar, a chief officer who has been stranded aboard a cargo vessel in Ukrainian waters since April. Kumar was part of a 14-member crew transporting popcorn to Turkey when Ukrainian authorities seized their vessel, Anka, on April 18 while it was sailing down the Danube river that divides Ukraine and Romania. Kyiv accused the ship of being part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” allegedly used to smuggle stolen Ukrainian grain.
Kumar, however, maintains that the Anka was flying Tanzania’s flag and managed by a Turkish company, though the actual ownership of the ship remains unclear. Along with Kumar, the crew includes five other Indians, six Egyptians, and two Azerbaijanis, all of whom remain stuck on board nearly five months after the seizure. Despite being told by Ukrainian officials that they were free to leave since they were not under investigation, the sailors fear disembarking would mean losing months of unpaid wages. According to data jointly maintained by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the total pending salaries had reached over $102,000 by June.
Kumar says he and his colleagues were unaware of the ship’s troubled background when they accepted the job. Now, they feel caught in a web of uncertainty, with the owner and Indian shipping authorities repeatedly promising solutions that never materialize. “This is a war zone. All we want is to return home quickly,” Kumar told the media.
India, the second-largest supplier of seafarers to the global shipping industry, also tops the list of “abandoned seafarers.” The 2006 Maritime Labour Convention defines abandonment as a situation where shipowners sever ties with the crew, leaving them without repatriation, provisions, or wages. The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) reported that in 2024 alone, 3,133 sailors were abandoned across 312 ships worldwide, of which 899 were Indian. For many, returning without pay is not an option as they often invest heavily in training certifications or pay middlemen to secure these jobs.
Experts blame the practice of “flags of convenience” as a major reason for abandonment. Shipowners often register vessels in countries with weak maritime oversight, allowing them to dodge responsibilities toward crew welfare. ITF data suggests that 90% of abandoned ships in 2024 were sailing under such flags. Because of the globalized nature of shipping—with owners, managers, crew, and flag states all from different countries—resolving disputes becomes even more complex.
The crisis is not limited to Ukraine. In January this year, Captain Amitabh Chaudhary* and his crew faced a similar ordeal when their Tanzania-flagged tanker, Stratos, stalled near Saudi Arabia’s Jubail port after hitting rocks. Despite six months of effort to refloat the vessel, the owner refused to pay salaries, leaving the crew of mostly Indians stranded with little food. “For days, we survived only on rice and potatoes,” Chaudhary said, adding that the uncertainty had broken their morale.
Back in India, seafarers argue that lax scrutiny by the Directorate General of Shipping, which oversees shipowners and recruitment agencies, contributes to the crisis. While officials often remain silent, maritime welfare groups stress that sailors must also exercise caution before signing contracts. Still, the stories of men like Kumar, Chaudhary, and others reflect a larger systemic failure in protecting seafarers.
For Captain Prabjeet Singh and his 22-member Indian crew on the Curacao-flagged oil tanker Nirvana, abandonment became a grim reality earlier this year when an Indian court seized their vessel over unpaid wages. With no fuel or provisions, they were forced to burn wood from the ship itself to cook food. Although they were eventually allowed to disembark in July, their salaries remain unpaid despite court orders.
The plight of stranded Indian sailors underscores a recurring crisis in international shipping, where workers often become the first casualties of disputes between owners, flag states, and managers. For now, many remain trapped on lifeless vessels, clinging to the hope of going home with the wages they risked their lives to earn.
