Industry urged to share knowledge in cases of seafarer criminalisation
(Posted on 20/01/25)
InterManager, the international trade association for the ship management sector, is calling on shipping industry colleagues to contribute to a new campaign to highlight the issue of criminalisation of seafarers.
InterManager is concerned at the increasingly harsh treatment of ships’ crew in some parts of the world and is actively taking part in industry discussions to identify the depth of the problem and to address seafarers’ concerns.
The Association now plans to collate statistics on criminalisation incidents which it plans to share with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and other shipping industry stakeholders.
InterManager is asking for other shipping organisations, maritime colleagues, and seafarers to inform it of cases of criminalisation that they are aware of, to ensure that the data InterManager collects is as comprehensive as possible.
Secretary General, Captain Kuba Szymanski, explained: “There is a concern within the shipping industry that seafarers are being unfairly detained when authorities find something wrong with their ship, often when drugs are found onboard but also in other circumstances. Most frequently senior officers are detained, although the whole crew can be, and held without charge for long periods of time and often without any proper legal representation or assistance.
“There is growing recognition across the shipping industry that this situation needs to be addressed, including at the International Maritime Organization. InterManager, as part of the Human Element Industry Group and as an IMO NGO, has stepped up to collect meaningful and useful data that can be used to inform discussions on this issue. Let’s see what the scale of the problem is.”
“We’re calling on all shipping professionals and maritime colleagues to share their knowledge with us to ensure the information we compile is as comprehensive as it can be,” he said.
InterManager has recently begun compiling figures and these are beginning to shed light on the situation being faced by seafarers. We acknowledge we are in the very early stages of gathering data, however the Association knows of 118 cases of criminalisation but suspects there are many more. Senior Officers are most at risk of criminalisation. Statistics collected so far reveal that in 63% of cases the ship’s Master was the one imprisoned. Tanker crew represent the most frequent vessel type which arrests occurred on (29%), followed by Bulk Carriers (19%), and General Cargo vessels (14%).
Examining our current, limited, data between 1989 and 2024 shows that the number of cases has increased, peaking in 2023 at 23 cases, with a further 17 in 2024. Criminalisation occurs across the globe. Cases are most frequent in Asia, with a significant number occurring in both Europe and the Americas.
Latest News
Shipping takes major sustainable plastic step with toolkit from MACS
(Posted on 16/07/26)The Maritime Association for Clean Seas (MACS) has published a series of practical guides to enable... Read more
Shanghai climbs to second as Singapore retains top spot
(Posted on 16/07/26)Shanghai has officially become the world’s second-most prominent shipping hub, according to the... Read more
OceanScore sees growing port adoption of PortView
(Posted on 16/07/26)OceanScore, the maritime data and sustainability company helping shipping and ports turn regulatory... Read more
INTERCARGO highlights progress and priorities in bulk carrier safety
(Posted on 07/07/26)Bulk carrier safety continues to show steady long-term improvement, but the nature of risk facing seafarers... Read more
Norden raises full-year guidance following strong performance in dry cargo
(Posted on 07/07/26)Following stronger than expected operational performance in dry cargo, reduced costs associated with... Read more
Algoma announces refinancing of long-term debt
(Posted on 03/07/26)Algoma Central Corporation, a leading provider of marine transportation services, has announced that... Read more
Global maritime under threat from Fortibleed incident, warns Cydome
(Posted on 03/07/26)Major maritime, ports and energy companies have been identified by Cydome’s threat-intelligence... Read more
Crewing specialist expands global recruitment network with Indonesian seafarers
(Posted on 30/06/26)As the global shipping industry faces mounting concerns over future crew availability, Danica Crewing... Read more
IMO pauses evacuation in Strait of Hormuz following attack
(Posted on 29/06/26)Following an attack on a vessel in the Gulf of Oman, IMO has decided to temporarily pause its evacuation... Read more
Human cost of keeping world trade moving highlighted on Day of the Seafarer
(Posted on 25/06/26)Leading health and wellness platform OneCare Group is calling on shipping leaders to recognise the immense... Read more
