The Maritime Labour Convention requires shipowners to repatriate seafarers at the end of contract, at no cost to the seafarer. Some companies refuse – and when they do a seafarer may be classed as abandoned.
Operators fail to prepare visas or schedule replacement crew in time, often to avoid countries where travel is more expensive or complicated, or to minimise the frequency and costs of crew change. Blame is often disingenuously assigned to national immigration rules. Restricting a worker's ability to leave is itself a forced labour indicator. Failure to repatriate also compounds other risks: contracts run past their agreed end, fatigue accumulates with no prospect of relief, and isolation from family deepens into more serious mental health risks.
See the Risks Across Transport guidance for more on these risks.