# Crew abandonment yet again **URL:** \ **Category:** Professional Mariner Forum\ **Created:** [February 3, 2019, 2:04pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519 "2019-02-03T14:04:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Steamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Steamer](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Steamer)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 6:35pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/41 "2021-05-06T18:35:48Z")
> [@tengineer1](#): > > take as much of value off the ship as you can. I remember Busan when the Soviet Union was falling apart, the place was lousy with Russian ships and the streets were filled with crews who were selling whatever they could unbolt and carry off. ---
**Author:** ![cmakin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/48db29/32.png) [@cmakin](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/cmakin)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 12:06pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/42 "2021-05-07T12:06:34Z")
I seem to recall reading something about Texas Street bars being Russian oriented these days. Hell, it has been decades since I have ever walked into the New York or Hollywood bar. . . uh, on my way to the churches and museums, of course. . . . . ---
**Author:** ![Steamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Steamer](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Steamer)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 12:20pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/43 "2021-05-07T12:20:48Z")
It seemed like there was a big shift toward the Russian clientele on Texas Street over just a couple of years. Oh yes, I also have vague recollections of walking past the Hollywood on my way to one of the Mozart bakeries. ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 12:39pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/44 "2021-05-07T12:39:30Z")
Nothing to do with Texas Street, but a bit “Texas”: In the early 1990s I went to Busan to take delivery of a Russian longliner that had been arrested and sold on auction to a Norwegian company. Onboard was a few tonnes of frozen squid to be used as bait, which was a problem. To get rid of it when the boat arrived in Singapore for docking would cost a lot of money. While I was looking at ways of disposing the bait in Busan some of the former Russian crew arrived on board. They had got hold of another longliner and needed bait for their first fishing trip in the Bering Sea. They knew their way around and did not care about my “protests”. They carried off the boxes of squid into their boat and disappeared, saving me a headache and the new Owners some money. ---
**Author:** ![Hogsnort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@Hogsnort](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Hogsnort)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/45 "2021-05-07T19:24:44Z")
There were a lot of Russian trawlers in Lyttelton back then all rafted up. Some charities provided food for them. They looked bloody miserable and had every reason to be. ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 11:04am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/46 "2021-05-26T11:04:54Z")
New record??: > **[Crew of oil tanker beached off UAE to go home after four years at sea](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/17/crew-of-oil-tanker-beached-off-uae-to-go-home-after-four-years-stranded-at-sea)** > > Five men abandoned without wages on ship that ran aground have received settlements and will be repatriated to their families ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 12:15pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/47 "2021-06-10T12:15:11Z")
It is getting worse, not better: > **[‘Tip of the iceberg’: ITF inspectors recover $45m in seafarers’ wages amidst...](https://www.itfglobal.org/en/news/tip-iceberg-itf-inspectors-recover-45m-in-seafarers-wages-amidst-record-high-abandonments)** > > New figures released by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) show that $44,613,880 USD of seafarers' owed wages were recovered by the ITF’s network of inspectors across the world last year. Meanwhile, the number of... ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 9:56am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/48 "2021-06-17T09:56:22Z")
Good news story. ITF to the rescue: > **[Abandoned seafarers to return home after two-year ordeal - Splash247](https://splash247.com/abandoned-seafarers-to-return-home-after-two-year-ordeal/)** > > The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has reported that the 19 remaining crewmembers of the abandoned Aswan bulker will be going home this week, bringing their two-year ordeal to a close. The seafarers were left abandoned as part of a... ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2021, 10:18am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/49 "2021-06-30T10:18:57Z")
Does MLC actually work as intended, especially in regards to abandonment??: [https://www.gard.no/web/updates/content/31922692/mlc-support-for-abandoned-seafarers-theory-and-practice-](https://www.gard.no/web/updates/content/31922692/mlc-support-for-abandoned-seafarers-theory-and-practice-) ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 11:42am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/50 "2021-10-12T11:42:04Z")
> **[VLCC Crew’s Appeal for Help Highlights Crew Abandonment ](https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/vlcc-crew-s-appeal-for-help-highlights-crew-abandonment)** > > The crew aboard a VLCC under arrest in Singapore sent out an international appeal for help. Their ef... > **[Crews Are Abandoned on Ships in Record Numbers Without Pay, Food or a Way Home](https://www.wsj.com/articles/crews-are-abandoned-on-ships-in-record-numbers-without-pay-food-or-a-way-home-11633699978)** > > Failing companies ditch vessels too expensive to repair or too difficult to sell, leaving behind cargo-ship castaways trapped in ports or offshore. > [@](#): > > Last year, the number of such cases reported to the agency more than doubled to 85 from 40 in 2019. This year is on track to be worse. ---
**Author:** ![powerabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@powerabout](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/powerabout)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 2:59pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/51 "2021-10-12T14:59:38Z")
sink it and they will get to come ashore ---
**Author:** ![tengineer1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@tengineer1](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/tengineer1)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 5:13pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/52 "2021-10-12T17:13:21Z")
Koch Shipping of the USA and Greek owned Lebanese company? Wouldn’t expect either to give a rats ass about crew. IMO is a joke too. ---
**Author:** ![Steamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Steamer](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Steamer)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/53 "2021-10-12T18:03:36Z")
Sieze the ships, sell them and give the crew everything left after paying port fees. Don’t say the ship can’t be forfeited in a minute, the drug cops do it all the time.\* \*Except of course when the side carries the logo of a major shipping line with political connections. ---
**Author:** ![tengineer1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@tengineer1](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/tengineer1)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 6:29pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/54 "2021-10-12T18:29:00Z")
> [@Steamer](#): > > \*Except of course when the side carries the logo of a major shipping line with political connections. You mean JP Morgan Chase owner of a ship with 20 tons of cocaine? They said they had no operational control of that ship. MSC the operator said,“Oops, shit happens” Ship was released. If your cousin brings in a kilo of cocaine on the RIB you let him take out, try the same defense. ---
**Author:** ![Steamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Steamer](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Steamer)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 6:45pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/55 "2021-10-12T18:45:21Z")
I think “asset forfeiture” is one of those laws that only apply to little people and as we slide into 3rd world status the firewall that protects the real criminals only gets higher. ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/56 "2021-10-12T20:32:49Z")
> [@tengineer1](#): > > You mean JP Morgan Chase owner of a ship with 20 tons of cocaine? They said they had no operational control of that ship. MSC the operator said,“Oops, shit happens” I think the structure was more complicated than that. (In general, I don’t have any detailed knowledge of this particular case): - JP Morgan Chase front a consortium of investors that owned the ship though a multitude of Trusts and Holding companies in BI, Cayman Islands, Panama, Delaware etc. - Managed by a 3rd Party Ship Management Company somewhere. - On long term charter to MSC, who gets to put their name and logo on the vessel. The containers they carry are sealed and the content only known by what has been declared by the shipper on the BL and Manifest. Neither the Shipping Co., Master or Crew have any way of knowing if any drugs, or other illegal items, are in the containers. (In some cases even people are smuggled this way) ---
**Author:** ![Steamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Steamer](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Steamer)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 9:12pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/57 "2021-10-12T21:12:27Z")
> [@ombugge](#): > > Neither the Shipping Co., Master or Crew have any way of knowing if any drugs, or other illegal items, are in the containers. Sorry Bug but the reality is a little bit different than the innocent structure you would like your readers to believe: > **[20 tons of coke = 40+ years in prison for MSC container-ship crew](https://www.freightwaves.com/news/20-tons-of-coke-40-years-in-prison-for-msc-container-ship-crew)** > > Former chief mate of MSC Gayane gets seven years behind bars for lead role in massive 2019 smuggling operation. ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 10:08pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/58 "2021-10-12T22:08:31Z")
I don’t know this particular case. Was the drugs found in one of the containers, or hidden somewhere on the ship by some of the crew? 20 tons is not easy to carry on board by one or two persons, nor to bring ashore again without detection. I commented on the ownership/management7charterer structure in shipping today and the normal procedure for container carriage. It is no longer the old way where the Owners was shipping people, with seafarers in their operating staff that managed and operated the ships themselves on liner terms. Such companies exists still, but they are few and far between. It is now more likely to be the way I described, with the ships being just “assets” and Masters necessary. evils. ---
**Author:** ![Steamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Steamer](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Steamer)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2021, 8:40pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/59 "2021-10-13T20:40:48Z")
> [@ombugge](#): > > 20 tons is not easy to carry on board by one or two persons, nor to bring ashore again without detection. It is inconceivable that there was a single person onboard that ship who did not know what was going on. > **[MSC Gayane crewmember provides details about the largest cocaine bust in US...](https://splash247.com/msc-guyane-crewmember-provides-details-about-the-largest-drugs-bust-in-us-history/)** > > A Montenegrin ship’s electrician pled guilty yesterday to narcotics conspiracy charges, becoming the third crewmember from the to admit their involvement in the US’s largest ever cocaine bust. A record-breaking 20 tons of cocaine, worth $1.3bn, was... ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2021, 9:20pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519/60 "2021-10-13T21:20:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Court documents also allege that at least twice while the ship was en route between stops in Chile and Panama, numerous smaller boats approached the _MSC Gayane_ at sea to hand off large bundles of the illicit drug. > > Using the ship’s crane, they pulled duffel bags filled with wrapped cocaine off the smaller boats and onto the _Gayane_ ’s deck before splitting the individual bricks among seven cargo containers carrying wine, vegetable extract, Chilean dried nuts, scrap metal, and other legitimate goods bound for Europe, Africa, and Asia,” the _Inquirer_ reported. Yes, if that is the fact then it is inconceivable that there was a single person onboard that ship who did not know what was going on. It it surprising that the crew had access to containers with goods like wine etc. Normally such containers would be locked for security and sealed for customs procedure in transit. BTW; Did the suppliers of the drugs and the intended receivers in R’dam get identified and arrested? A little surprising if someone that had the ability to arrange offshore delivery drugs to a ship at sea at several locations along the S.American coast and someone in R’dam that could access (randomly selected??) containers to remove the drugs at the other end, didn’t leave some clues to their identity. It would require quite a big organization, with a large number of individuals involved, to pull this off. Oh well they lost 20 tons of drugs, so maybe they weren’t so clever after all. [Previous page](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519.md?page=2) [Next page](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/crew-abandonment-yet-again/50519.md?page=4)