Six seafarers abandoned aboard detained ship in Las Palmas

Six seafarers remain stranded aboard a Turkish-owned general cargo ship detained in the Port of Las Palmas, with unpaid wages now reaching about $68,000, after inspectors uncovered serious breaches of maritime regulations. The case came to light in late May when a crew member asked for help with repatriation after his contract had expired; he had served more than 13 months on board, well beyond the 11-month maximum allowed under the Maritime Labour Convention.

An onboard inspection found serious deficiencies in the ship's condition and in the crew's living and working conditions. Two seafarers had been aboard since April 2025, while the chief engineer had been serving since October 2024 and unpaid since January 2026 — keeping the vessel running, an inspector said, because he had no other choice. After the crew was confirmed as abandoned, Spain's maritime authority detained the ship. Further checks indicated it was sailing without required statutory certificates, while the financial-security documentation meant to protect crews in abandonment cases appeared to be fraudulent.

Following negotiations, two crew members were repatriated and paid in full, and fresh food and water were delivered, but the owner has since failed to repatriate the remaining crew, made no move to repair the vessel and continued to withhold wages. Welfare volunteers have delivered additional supplies, and legal steps are now under way to arrest the ship. It is not the first time this owner has abandoned a crew on the same vessel, which was reported to an international abandonment database in December 2024 after crew were left without pay in Algeria.