Unpaid wages — what to do right now

Wages late or short. The first 24 hours decide whether you collect what you're owed or chase it through court for years.

Immediate action (do this first)

1. Take photos of every wage account received + every screenshot of payroll messages.
2. Demand a written wage statement from the Master under MLC A2.2(2) — keep the demand in writing too.
3. Call ISWAN SeafarerHelp: +44 800 012 1004 (free, 24/7, multilingual). Get a case reference.
4. Find the ITF inspector at your current or next port: itfseafarers.org/en/find-an-itf-inspector.

Evidence to save

• Original signed SEA + the CBA reference.
• Every wage account for every pay period (MLC A2.2(2) requires one per period).
• Allotment payment receipts from the family's bank account.
• Time sheets / hours-of-work records signed by the Master.
• Every written demand sent (WhatsApp + email screenshots, dated).
• Photo of the financial-security certificate (MLC A2.5.2) carried onboard.
• Photo of the applicable CBA reference posted on the ship.

Escalation chain

1. ISWAN SeafarerHelp (24/7, free, multilingual)
2. ITF inspector at current or next port — Inspector can come onboard, audit wage accounts, issue a Notice of Intent to Arrest if the owner refuses to pay.
3. Flag-state seafarer-complaint channel — MLC Regulation 5.1 — flag state has primary jurisdiction.
4. Port State Control (MLC Standard A5.2.2) — Onshore complaint at the port the vessel is currently in.
5. Home-country embassy or consulate — Especially if abandonment is also developing.
6. Maritime court via the ITF (last resort) — Wage claims rank as maritime liens under the 1993 Geneva Convention.

Do NOT

• Don't sign a wage account showing unauthorised deductions without writing 'signed under protest as to deductions of [items]' next to your signature.
• Don't accept a 'mutual termination' that strips wage claims in exchange for repatriation — see /help/repatriation-blocking.
• Don't refuse to work without consulting the ITF first — refusing work without process can give the owner grounds to refuse repatriation.
• Don't leave the vessel and sign off voluntarily before the wages are recovered or the financial-security claim is filed.

Sample message (copy + adapt)

To the Master / Designated Person Ashore: I have not received [n] month(s) of wages owed under my Seafarer Employment Agreement dated [date]. I request a written wage statement covering [period] under MLC Standard A2.2(2) within 7 days. I am keeping this message and copying it to ISWAN SeafarerHelp and to the ITF inspector for the port of [port].

Last verified 4 months ago