Life and loss at sea:
International shipping’s seafarer abandonment problem
Feature story
When a seafarer lost his leg in an accident, his employer left him on his own in one of the growing cases of ship abandonments.
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Padmamurti and Alam stand on the deck of the SL Star at sea. They were employed as seafarers in Bandar Abbas in Iran. Padamurti was 23 and Alam 21 at the time of the incident. Alam is still owed $2,450 in unpaid wages from his time in Iran.
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A map shows the route of the SL Star's eight-hour journey back and forth from Bandar Abbas, across the Strait of Hormuz, to Jebel Ali port in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, transporting construction materials.
Padmamurti fishes on a boat at sunset. After spending his time on the fishing boat of a family friend in his childhood, Padmamurti had always dreamt of a life on sea.
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Kesari bath, or saffron rice, an Indian dessert is prepared by the cook of the SL star for the crew to celebrate the ship setting sail.
Alam stands alone at the head of the ship. Today, Alam has had a successful career as a seafarer on cruise ships for a major company travelling to ports in the United States and Europe.
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A seafarer covers his ears from the sound of explosions overhead in this illustration photo. When bombs exploded around stranded ships in warzones such as Yemen, seafarers like Rahul feared for their lives.
Noodles cook on a pot over an open fire in this illustration photo. Stranded at sea, the ship crew survived on meagre rations of one daily meal of instant noodles cooked over a wood fire.
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Mohamed Arrachedi, the ITF’s director for the Middle East and Iran, gets hundreds of WhatsApp messages every day from stranded seafarers asking for help.
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REPORTING: Katie McQue
EDITING: Ellen Wulfhorst and Amruta Byatnal
ILLUSTRATIONS: Karif Wat
PRODUCTION: Amber Milne
A seafarer holds an Apple watch in this illustration photo. Seafarers often need to pay to get jobs on ships, and also buy gifts, such as the $1000 Apple watch that Rahul bought for the captain's son.