The Itf News

Officer Lee Tae Young, a first mate from the Republic of Korea, has been awarded the IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea, in recognition of his heroic actions that saved 12 fellow crew members from the Geum Seong No. 135 when it sunk in November 2024. He was honored during a special ceremony recognizing seafarers held in London on November 24, 2025, in the margins of the IMO Assembly taking place from November 24 to December 3, 2025. IMO Secretary-General Mr. Arsenio Dominguez applauded Mr.

A newly released study by Seafarers' Rights International (SRI) finds that cabotage laws now exist on 85% of the world’s coastlines, are growing in number at an unprecedented pace, and are increasingly essential to national security, economic stability and maritime resilience.The Cabotage Laws of the World (2025) report, commissioned by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), compares nations in their enforcement of cabotage laws, which restrict the waterborne transportation of goods or passengers between two points within the same country to domestic carriers.

The criminalization case of Syrian-born, Finnish citizen and Chief Mate Ali Albokhari sentenced to a 30-year prison term for allegedly being part of the smuggling of cocaine from Columbia continues to be fought against by his wife, Elena Albokhari.Ali Albokhari denies the charges. He remains the only crewmember of the Phoenician-M vessel remaining in prison after their 2023 arrest in the Turkish port of Eregli.Captain Marko Bekavac, also detained, was able to return home to Croatia…

A new report from the ITF Seafarers’ Trust (ITFST) and the World Maritime University (WMU) highlights the continuing absence of shore leave for the world’s seafarers.Analyzing the data from 5,879 seafarers who responded to the ITFST’s Shore Leave Survey, WMU researchers concluded that more than a quarter of seafarers did not get any shore leave at all, and a third only got ashore once or twice during their entire contract, based on an average of 6.6 months onboard.Officers were least likely to get shore leave, and seafarers on offshore vessels and tankers were the least likely to get ashore.

Global maritime leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to fair treatment, due process and coordinated action to protect seafarers’ rights.Seafarers detained in connection with their professional duties must be treated fairly and with dignity, with full respect for their human rights, high level participants from the IMO, International Labour Organization (ILO), International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) have urged, following…

When coast guard officers boarded junior seafarer Omkar Pawar’s ship off Trinidad and Tobago in 2020, one of them pointed a gun at his face.“They searched the ship. After two days, they found 450 kilograms of cocaine in the tank,” said Pawar.Pawar and the rest of the crew were jailed and interrogated in a Trinidadian detention center for 15 days. The ship’s captain and second officer were later prosecuted.Pawar, who was 20 at the time, had no knowledge of the smuggling operation and was never charged.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is backing the US Federal Maritime Commission’s (FMC) domestic investigation into vessel flagging laws, including the long-abused practice of ‘Flags of Convenience’ (FOCs).The FMC announced its probe last week, citing serious concerns that states operating FOCs are enabling a “race to the bottom” in global maritime regulations."The FMC is absolutely right in its assessment of Flags of Convenience and the permissive environments they create for unscrupulous shipowners and operators…

By May this year, 158 cases of vessel abandonment had been recorded, up from 119 at the same point in 2024.These cases represent more than 1,501 seafarers who have reached out to the ITF for assistance, many of whom were left unpaid, without food, water or access to ports, often for months at a time.“Abandonment is a growing, systemic problem,” said Stephen Cotton, ITF General Secretary. “Behind every number is a human being who has been failed by the industry and the governments responsible for regulating it.

The Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) has strengthened its collaborative ties with the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) during a recent visit by ITF delegates to the General Directorate of Seafarers (DGGM). The meeting focused on reinforcing the protection and well-being of seafarers sailing under the Panamanian flag.A central highlight of the meeting was the DGGM’s achievement in recovering $8.5 million in outstanding wages for seafarers by the end of 2024. This figure marks a 52.7% increase compared to the previous year’s recovery of $5…

Some 200 seafarers aboard more than 15 ships stuck for weeks off Yemen's port of Ras Isa are preparing to offload cargoes and leave thanks to a ceasefire deal between Houthi militia and the U.S., maritime and labour union sources said on Thursday.Still, threat levels for shipping remained high given the Houthis' confirmation that Israeli-related assets remained open to attack and the attendant risks to broader shipping, maritime officials said. Ships with no connection to Israel had been targeted in the past with no certainty of safe passage.President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday the U.S.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) welcomes the series of landmark updates to ILO’s Maritime Labor Convention (MLC), following an intense week of negotiations at the International Labor Organization (ILO) headquarters in Geneva. Under ILO’s Special Tripartite Committee on the MLC, governments, shipowners, and unions met from April 7-11, 2025, to review and adopt crucial updates that reflect the evolving needs of seafarers and the maritime industry.Among the suite of amendments…

The Fifth Meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee established under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC, 2006) is taking place at the ILO headquarters in Geneva from April 7-11, and maritime charity Stella Maris UK is calling for urgent protections to stop seafarers being forced to choose between shore leave and adequate rest.“This should never be a choice,” said Tim Hill, CEO of Stella Maris UK. “But for many crew, it’s an unacceptable reality. We regularly meet seafarers…

The majority of the jet fuel aboard the U.S.-flagged tanker Stena Immaculate remains secure despite a collision with a container ship off the British coast, the tanker's owner, Stena Bulk, reported on Wednesday. Only two of the vessel’s 18 fuel tanks have leaked.The incident occurred on Monday when the Portuguese-flagged container ship Solong struck the Stena Immaculate, which was carrying jet fuel for the U.S. military. British authorities have since arrested the captain of the…

Abandoned ships at sea have emerged as a serious maritime industry crisis, creating both navigational hazards and humanitarian concerns. Over recent years, hundreds of vessels have been left to drift around the oceans unattended, endangering global shipping routes, marine ecosystems, and seafarers themselves.Ship abandonment occurs when ship owners fail to provide wages, provisions, and fuel to their crews onboard their vessels; leaving them stranded aboard their vessels for months or even years without proper support from management.

Maritime entrepreneur is a long-time advocate for diversity and inclusion in the shipping industry. Ms. Karin Orsel, co-founder and CEO of the MF Shipping Group based in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, has been selected to receive the 2025 IMO Gender Equality Award. The Award is bestowed on individuals who have made significant contributions to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women in the maritime sector. The IMO Council endorsed Ms. Orsel as next year's recipient during its 133rd session held in London from 18 to 22 November 2024.

The Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) has introduced a legal mechanism enabling the immediate revocation of registration and navigation licenses for vessels in the national merchant fleet that appear on international sanctions lists. Additionally, any other navigation documents issued by the PMA will also be invalidated.On October 18, 2024, Executive Decree No. 512 was published in the Official Gazette, outlining the cancellation of vessels or registered owners listed in the following:• Sanctions Lists issued by the U.S.

Four seafarers have been abandoned without pay on a 60-year-old tugboat in Washington State.The vessel, Wycliffe, recently changed its flag to Vanuatu, and was scheduled to help tow two retired Washington State Ferries vessels for a 34-day transit to Ecuador – where the new owner is based – for scrap, but the contract was canceled after the tug experienced technical issues.The four crew members on board from Colombia, Panama, and Peru faced dire conditions, including inadequate food…

A Palau-flagged general cargo vessel has been detained in Israel after "inhumane" crew conditions were discovered during an onboard inspection. The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) said the vessel Serafina is the worst its inspector Assaf Hadar has ever seen in four years of inspecting ships in Israel.When Hader boarded the ship, he found food storage freezers all at above 0°c, the stench of rotten meat, a bug infestation, broken sanitation facilities, among other inhuman conditions.

The 25 crew members of the MSC Aries, which was seized by Iran on April 13, are safe, shipping firm MSC said on Wednesday, adding that discussions with Iranian authorities are in progress to secure their earliest release."We are also working with the Iranian authorities to have the cargo discharged," the Swiss headquartered company said in a statement.Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the container vessel in the Strait of Hormuz days after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1.

When a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi Islamists landed near his ship in the Red Sea, Costas Rassias vowed to stop sailing through the perilous waters."I froze," said the Greek 34-year-old second class marine engineer, describing the close call. "I weighed what was more important - my life, or a better income?"As attacks on merchant ships by the Iran-backed Houthis persist, traumatised seafarers are refusing to sail through the Red Sea, according to interviews with more than 15…

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is calling out Dubai-based ship management company Middle East Marine LLC for what it described as "the worst case of serial seafarer abandonment ever seen", involving the systematic abuse and neglect of more than 100 seafarers.Since November 2022, the ITF has reported over 17 abandonments across 18 vessels in Bangladesh, India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Seafarers from India, Indonesia and Myanmar have been left in dire conditions including the provision of dirty drinking water…

India's navy evacuated all 20 crew from a stricken vessel in the Red Sea on Thursday, after a Houthi attack killed three seafarers in the first civilian fatalities from the Yemeni group's campaign against the key shipping route.The Iran-aligned militants fired a missile at the Barbados-flagged, Greek-operated True Confidence on Wednesday about 50 nautical miles off the southern Yemeni port of Aden, setting it ablaze.In a statement, the owners and manager said all 20 crew and three…

A Houthi missile attack killed three seafarers on a Red Sea merchant ship on Wednesday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said, the first fatalities reported since the Iran-aligned Yemeni group began strikes against shipping in one of the world's busiest trade lanes.The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, which set the Greek-owned, Barbados-flagged ship True Confidence ablaze around 50 nautical miles off the coast of Yemen's port of Aden.In an earlier message on X responding to the Houthi claim, Britain's embassy wrote: "At least 2 innocent sailors have died.