Abandonment of Sea Farers: Legal Response

Shipping industry has seen an enumerable growth in past years. But with growth there also comes unresolved issues, and the same has happened with sea farers. Already concerned about the security of their family members, the problems of sea farers increase when they are abandoned on the ship. When Sea farers are abandoned, it is mostly due to lack of funds by employers which lead to sea farers roaming in a foreign nation and dealing with financial and social crisis. They often lack access to proper legal services. Marine operations are often perceived as “dangerous” because of these issues at hand. Life at sea can be hard as sea farers already face different kinds of abuses, the fact that they are away from their families and friends and, in such scenarios if they lack proper legal measures to save themselves then it is a big issue. The aim of this paper is to highlight the issues faced by sea farers after they are abandoned and potential developments that can be made in order to help sea farers legally in times of abandonment. The paper also consists of cases of abandonment and how were they dealt with in regards to international and Indian maritime law. The objective of this research is to find out whether legal response generated at the time of abandonment of sea farers is sufficient or not. In case laws are found to be invariable, possible solutions have been proposed so that welfare of sear farers may be achieved.