Seafarer abandonment hit record levels in 2025, according to new data compiled by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), with 6223 seafarers abandoned across 410 ships. At the end of 2025, the Indian Government announced that “blacklisting” measures would be taken to protect seafarers from ships with a record of repeat abandonments and other bad practices. Türkiye (61 vessels) and the United Arab Emirates (54) recorded the highest number of abandoned ships. National blacklisting of ships to protect seafarers from ships with repeated involvement in abandonment cases, following the lead of India’s DG Shipping. Also read: Seafarer Mohammad Aisha is going home after four years on abandoned ship