Record number of ghost ships are abandoned at sea

Since January 2022 a chemical tanker called Bluefoss has been abandoned in the port of Takoradi, Ghana. Four of its Cuban crew have not been paid since November 2021 and are currently stranded, “living off benevolence of missions and friends”. This isn’t an uncommon fate for modern ship crews. This year a record 282 ships carrying more than 4,000 seamen have been abandoned by their owners. Many crew are effectively marooned because port authorities require them to stay with their vessels to ensure they are safe. The WSJ says a sevenfold increase in the number of “ghost ships” since 2020 has two key drivers: supply chain snarl-ups during the pandemic, and sanctions imposed on fleets after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “If it’s a shadow vessel you can’t hold the owners to account,” says Guy Platten, secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping. “They are nowhere to be seen.”