19 Seafarers Stranded For 15 Months On UAE-Based Tanker Without Flag Or Insurance

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has called on authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to intervene urgently after 19 seafarers were abandoned on a sanctioned oil tanker in the Persian Gulf.

The crew, including 17 Indians, one Bangladeshi and one Ukrainian, are stuck aboard the tanker Global Peace, which is anchored off Al Hamriyah on the UAE coast.

Many of them have been onboard for as long as 15 months, far beyond the 11-month maximum allowed under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC). Several contracts expired more than five months ago, yet their right to repatriation has been ignored.

The tanker is owned by UAE-based Glory International FZ-LLC, a company that has been under United States sanctions since April this year. The vessel has no known flag, is believed to have no insurance, and the contracts held by the seafarers refer to non-existent ITF collective bargaining agreements.

The ITF says this situation is considered abandonment under international law. The federation has officially recorded the case in the International Maritime Organisation and International Labour Organisation abandonment database.

An ITF representative described the incident as a shocking example of how seafarers are often invisible victims of illegal oil trading. The representative added that the UAE’s maritime authorities must take responsibility to end the ordeal of the stranded crew.

The ITF also pointed out that the UAE is now one of the worst places in the world for seafarer abandonment. In the first eight months of 2025 alone, 32 cases were reported in the UAE, second only to Türkiye, which recorded 43. Despite being a major maritime hub, the UAE has not ratified the MLC, leaving abandoned seafarers with even fewer protections.

Reference: ITF

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