Thread by @thedailybeast

Behind the scenes of the pandemic, an invisible workforce of over one million seafarers has continued to toil on bulk carriers, oil tankers, fishing vessels, cruise ships, and more.

“We were out of sight and out of mind,” says Second Officer Jaisal Bhati. trib.al/P7X4YXl

Even in normal circumstances, weathering the perilous seas with limited personnel is a tough, dangerous job.

And while many industries ground to a standstill as a result of the coronavirus, the global shipping industry did not.

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Now, hundreds of thousands of seafarers remain on board vessels, “unable to be repatriated and past the expiry of their contracts.”

Some have been on board for as long as 18 months, which is far beyond the internationally recognized limit of 11 months.

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Jessie Braverman, a member of the Pacific Coast Coalition for Seafarers, described a number of concerning issues exacerbated by the pandemic.

Wage theft and abuse are rampant, but some ships weren’t even getting enough food or clean drinking water. trib.al/P7X4YXl

These nightmarish conditions are perhaps the inevitable result of the international nature of the maritime industry with its port states, flag states, owner states, and labor-exporting states built to endlessly shift blame.
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“Sadly, we’ve seen an incredible inflexibility from some governments, many of whom just don’t understand our industry, and don’t want to,” an ITF spokesperson told @charissaisidro

Unsurprisingly, morale has collapsed under these conditions. trib.al/P7X4YXl

An ITF survey of 1,434 seafarers taken in December and shared exclusively with The Daily Beast showed that one-third of respondents had unmet medical needs and at least four-fifths said their mental health and wellbeing had been negatively affected. trib.al/P7X4YXl

Pastor Marsh Drege of the Seafarers International House said:

“I talked to a seafarer almost every day in August, because they were in the Middle East, and they couldn’t get off the ship. They couldn’t go anywhere. They were basically prisoners.” trib.al/P7X4YXl

In the end, it’s seafarers, who have risked their livelihoods in an industry prone to blacklisting, that have stood up for their rights.

“It’s seafarers themselves, and advocates, working to help each other and helping themselves,” says Edwin Dela Cruz trib.al/P7X4YXl

Read more from @charissaisidro here: trib.al/P7X4YXl