Six cases of seafarer abandonment by foreign commercial vessel operators have been reported in Taiwan since 2018, of which only two remain unresolved, the Maritime and Port Bureau (MPB) said Sunday.

According to the International Maritime Organization, a case of seafarer abandonment occurs when the shipowner cuts ties with the seafarer, by refusing to fulfill certain fundamental obligations, such as timely repatriation, payment of outstanding remuneration and provision of basic necessities of life.

A press statement by the bureau indicates that the six cases in Taiwan were either caused by vessel problems or salary disputes between the sailors and their employers.

Among the cases, one happened in 2018, three in 2019 and the remaining two in 2020, the MPB said, adding that no other cases of sailor abandonment have been reported as of 2021.

Four of these cases were settled and the vessels involved have already left Taiwan, the MPB said.

Of the two cases that remain unresolved, one involves a Belize-registered cargo ship, which has been stuck at Taipei Harbor since October 2019, and the other a Sierra Leone-registered cargo ship, which was stranded in waters off Taiwan’s western county of Changhua in December 2019, it said.

The MPB’s statement came after local media reported recently that cases of seafarer abandonment in Taiwan increased sharply last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another media report said the eight sailors aboard the Belize-registered cargo ship have not received their salaries since 2020.

They are surviving with one electric fan on the ship and limited food provided by a man claiming to be a friend of the ship’s owner every 15 days, the report said.

Responding to the report, the MPB said among the eight seafarers, four were recently placed in a quarantine hotel while the others remain on the ship.

The MPB said it is currently coordinating with the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITWF) to ask the ship owner and its insurance company to settle the salary dispute.

It is also studying the possibility of punishing the ship owner using Taiwan’s Commercial Port Law, the MPB said.

In the case of the Sierra Leone-registered cargo ship, the MPB said it has been freed and is now being repaired at Kaohsiung Harbor.

The bureau is currently arranging a flight for its two Myanmarese crew members to return home, the MPB said.

According to the MPB, the repatriation expenses of abandoned seafarers are supposed to be shouldered by their employer, or the flag state of the ship, or the countries of the seafarers’ origin, in that order.

The bureau stressed that it has established a notification mechanism to help seafarers abandoned in Taiwan by their employers and to demand those employers fulfill their legal obligations.

Marex Media