IMO/ILO Joint Database annual summary (2024)
2024-2024 · global · status: annual summary
- Opened
- 2024-01-01
- Closed
- 2024-12-31
- Port
- global
- Shipowner
- multiple
- Insurer named on DMLC
- multiple
- Seafarers affected
- aggregate
- Nationalities
- MULTI
Summary
IMO/ILO Joint Database recorded 155 new abandonment cases in 2024 — the highest annual count since the 2020-21 COVID peak. Contributing factors: (a) sustained secondary-market vessel price weakness in the 3,000-8,000 DWT small-general-cargo segment, driving marginal-owner insolvency; (b) Bab-el-Mandeb Houthi campaign disrupting Red Sea + Suez routing for smaller operators whose insurance + fuel cost margins compressed; (c) sanctions-affected shadow fleet growth in the Russian-linked crude trade generating new abandonment patterns as sanctions bite. Flag distribution: Palau (18), Comoros (14), Panama (12), Tanzania (10), Sierra Leone (9), Togo (8). Seafarer nationality: Filipino (32%), Indian (18%), Ukrainian (12%), Turkish (8%), Egyptian (7%), Russian (5%), Chinese (4%).
Outcome for crew
155 documented cases; median resolution ~7 months; wage recovery highly variable by flag insurer posture.
Source
Resolution / documentation via: IMO/ILO Joint Database
Related rights + resources
- · Abandonment rights (MLC A2.5.2) — the regulatory framework this case is governed by
- · Unpaid wages
- · MLC 2006 financial-security providers directory
- · International Group P&I Clubs