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2020-2022 · multiple · status: resolved
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the largest documented spike in seafarer abandonment cases since the MLC A2.5.2 regime came into force in 2017. Peak year was 2020 with 85 formal database entries, followed by 94 in 2021 and 66 in 2022. Border closures + travel-quarantine requirements + crew-change collapse combined with a downturn in secondary-market vessel sales to leave hundreds of seafarers stranded on board vessels whose shipowners could not meet operating costs. The Neptune Declaration (September 2021) accelerated repatriation for MLC-compliant vessels; abandonment cases where the owner became insolvent required prolonged ITF + flag-state intervention. This aggregate entry summarises the trend; individual cases are catalogued in the IMO/ILO Joint Database.
several hundred repatriated; wage recovery highly variable by flag + insurer + owner status.
Resolution / documentation via: IMO + ILO + Neptune Declaration