I am stuck in port

Being stuck in port — unable to sign off, unable to leave the vessel, unable to fly home — is a crisis. It is often the visible end-stage of a wages, abandonment, contract, or visa problem. Stay calm, stay onboard if conditions are safe enough, and start collecting evidence while you raise the alarm through ISWAN, the ITF, the flag state, and your home country's embassy. You are not on your own.

Step-by-step

1. Confirm the underlying reason in writing — wages unpaid, contract dispute, repatriation refused, visa issue, vessel under PSC detention, charterer dispute, owner insolvency. Each maps to a different escalation route.
2. Take dated photos of the vessel, the berth, the agent's office (from outside), and any written notice you have received.
3. Call ISWAN SeafarerHelp on +44 800 012 1004 (free, 24/7, multilingual). They will route to the right helper in the right country.
4. Find the ITF inspector for your current port at itfseafarers.org/en/find-an-itf-inspector. The inspector can come onboard and intervene directly with the owner.
5. Notify your home country's embassy or consulate in writing — they can issue emergency travel documents and contact the foreign authority on your behalf.
6. If the vessel is under PSC detention, ask the inspector to open the seafarer-complaints channel under MLC Standard A5.2.2.
7. If abandonment is the underlying issue, see /help/abandonment. If wages are unpaid, see /help/unpaid-wages. If repatriation is being refused, see /help/repatriation-blocking.
8. Tell your family. They can apply pressure from the home country side (embassy, regulator, union, press).
9. Do not sign any document presented as a condition of leaving — especially a release of wage claims or a quittance — without independent advice.

Evidence to save

• Dated photos of the vessel, the berth, and visible notices.
• Original SEA + every wage account received (MLC A2.2(2)).
• Every message between you and the agent, the owner, the master, and the manning agency (WhatsApp screenshots + email).
• Names and positions of officers, agent, port authority contacts you have spoken to.
• Vessel name + IMO + flag + port + ETB/ETD.
• Embassy / consulate file reference if one has been opened.
• ITF inspector + ISWAN case reference if one has been opened.

What NOT to sign

• A release of claims as a condition of disembarking.
• A wage settlement that does not cover what the SEA + CBA say you are owed.
• A 'mutual termination' that strips repatriation rights.
• A sign-off endorsement that pre-dates your actual disembarkation.

Legal basis

MLC 2006 Title 2 (Conditions of employment), Regulation 2.5 (Repatriation), Standard A2.5.2 (Financial security for abandonment). MLC Title 5 (Compliance and enforcement) — onshore + onboard complaint procedures. Flag-state obligations under MLC 5.1. Port-state-control obligations under MLC 5.2 + IMO MoUs.

Primary sources

• MLC 2006 Regulation 2.5 + Standard A2.5 — Repatriation
• ITF — Find an inspector
• ISWAN SeafarerHelp
• IMO/ILO Joint Database on abandonment
• Rights pillar: repatriation

Organisations that can help

• Sailors' Society — UK head office
  Europe · Crisis Response Network 24/7
  📞 +44 23 8051 5950
  💬 WhatsApp +44 7903 805950
• ISWAN — Family helpline (for relatives of seafarers)
  Global · 24/7
  📞 +44 20 7323 2737
• Stella Maris UK (Apostleship of the Sea)
  Europe · 24/7 emergency
  📞 +44 20 7901 1931
  💬 WhatsApp +44 7505 906261
• ISWAN Yacht Crew Helpline
  Global · 24/7
  📞 +44 20 7323 2737
• ISWAN Australia
  Asia-Pacific · Mon-Fri 9-17 AEST
  📞 +61 1800 071 217
• ISWAN Singapore (SeafarerHelp Asia)
  Asia-Pacific · Mon-Fri 9-18 SGT
  📞 +65 6478 5111
• Sailors' Society — Singapore office
  Asia-Pacific · Mon-Fri 9-18 SGT
  📞 +65 6634 1990
• OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) — Philippines
  Asia-Pacific · 24/7 hotline (PH only)
  📞 1348
• Stella Maris USA (Apostleship of the Sea of the United States)
  Americas · Mon-Fri 9-17 CT, port chaplains 24/7
  📞 +1 504 581 1693
• Stella Maris Philippines
  Asia-Pacific · Mon-Sat 9-17 PHT
  📞 +63 2 8554 0500
• Stella Maris India
  Asia-Pacific · Mon-Sat 10-18 IST
  📞 +91 22 6710 4040
• Mission to Seafarers — Rotterdam Centre
  Europe · Mon-Sun 9-21 CET
  📞 +31 10 412 8338
• Mission to Seafarers — Singapore Centre
  Asia-Pacific · Mon-Sat 9-21 SGT
  📞 +65 6276 5404
• Mariners' Club Hong Kong (Mission to Seafarers)
  Asia-Pacific · Mon-Sat 9-21 HKT
  📞 +852 2341 1485
• Deutsche Seemannsmission Hamburg
  Europe · Daily 14-22 CET
  📞 +49 40 314 070
• Sjømannskirken (Norwegian Seamen's Mission)
  Europe · Mon-Fri 9-15 CET
  📞 +47 55 55 22 55

Disclaimer. General information only — not legal advice. The right escalation depends on the underlying cause. Contact ISWAN and the ITF inspector first; they can map your situation onto the right route.