Turkish-owned vessel detained with fake safety papers, a forged wage-security certificate, and crew owed USD68,000 in wages
Six seafarers remain abandoned aboard the Lady Mina, detained in the Port of Las Palmas after an International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) inspector uncovered serious breaches of international maritime regulations by the vessel's Turkish owner. The total amount of unpaid wages owed to the six seafarers has now reached USD 68,000.
The case was brought to ITF’s attention on 23 May 2026, when one crew member contacted the ITF Inspectorate in Las Palmas requesting assistance with repatriation after his employment contract had expired. Despite having served on board for more than 13 months – well beyond the 11-month maximum permitted under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 – and repeatedly requesting repatriation, the shipowner failed to fulfil its obligations to the seafarers.
Following an onboard inspection by ITF Inspector for the Canary Islands, Gonzalo Galan, serious deficiencies were identified both in the condition of the vessel and in the crew's living and working conditions. Two seafarers had been on board since April 2025, while the Chief Engineer had been serving since October 2024, and without pay since January 2026.
"When I boarded the Lady Mina, it was immediately clear this crew had been left to fend for themselves," said Galan. "The Chief Engineer had gone six months without a single payment, yet he kept the vessel running because he had no other choice. This is not an oversight by the owner – this is abandonment."
After confirming the crew had been abandoned by the shipowner, the ITF reported the case to the Spanish Maritime Authority (Capitanía Marítima), which detained the vessel. Further inspections revealed that the Lady Mina is sailing without required statutory certificates, while documentation for the financial security mandated under the MLC, designed to protect seafarers in cases of abandonment, appears to be fraudulent.
Following several days of negotiations with the shipowner, two crew members were repatriated and paid their outstanding wages in full, and fresh provisions and drinking water were supplied to meet the crew's immediate needs. However, weeks later
the shipowner has failed to repatriate the remaining crew whose contracts have expired, has made no effort to repair the vessel, and continues to withhold the crew’s wages.
Last week, the ITF informed the Port Welfare Committee of Las Palmas of the ongoing situation. Thanks to Stella Maris, volunteers delivered additional food supplies to the crew last Thursday.
The ITF is now providing legal assistance to the crew to initiate the arrest of the vessel.
This is not the first time this shipowner has abandoned a crew on this vessel. The vessel was reported to the ILO/IMO Joint Database on Abandonment of Seafarers in December 2024, after the owner had failed to pay crew for five months and left them abandoned in Djen Djen, Algeria.
"Cases like the Lady Mina are becoming depressingly too familiar in our ports," said Jacqueline Smith, ITF Maritime Coordinator. "A shipowner runs a vessel into the ground, strings the crew along for months without wages, rationed food, and no way to get home. Six human beings remain stuck on a ship that isn't seaworthy, working for a company that has made clear it doesn't care whether they eat or whether they ever see their families again.
No seafarer should be left stranded, dependent on humanitarian assistance simply because a shipowner refuses to meet its legal obligations. With unpaid wages now exceeding USD 68,000, the ITF will use every means we can to secure this crew's wages and bring them home."
