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They are called ghost cargo ships: these ships whose owners no longer take care of them and on board which the sailors are left to fend for themselves. Dozens of freighters would find themselves in this situation around the world.
Ships abandoned by their owners and sailors left to fend for months or even years. In Romania, a crew of four Syrians was forgotten on the shores of the Black Sea. Ali Bey’s sailors survive thanks to the help of the International Federation of Transport Workers. “It’s a real shame. Everyone knows about it, but nobody is doing anything.”, deplores the director of the Romanian branch of the federation, Adrian Mimalcioiu.
Stranded in the port for twelve months, the men on the boat are mentally exhausted. “We live like in a prison”, says one of them. Without a visa, the Romanian authorities do not allow them to leave the port. This abandoned ship is one of 80 freighters listed in the same situation in 2020. A thousand sailors are stuck far from home, unpaid or refueled. The reasons for these abandonments: bankruptcies of shipowners but also scams. Captain Ali Bey claims 200,000 dollars in arrears from the Turkish owner. The crew refuses to leave the ship before being paid, despite the palpable annoyance. The situation is deadlocked, although the Turkish owner of the boat is not at his first attempt. The case is in court in Romania, but it should take a long time to settle.