︎
Abandoned
Seafarer Map

Data


This map covers over 500 cases reported to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) between 2000 and the end of March 2022. It is worth nothing that the real number of abandonment cases is a lot higher, as not all of them get reported in the first instance. The database the map is based on can be accessed here.

Sources


  • It has been supplemented with vessel and company data from IMO Web Accounts Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS) database (free, but you need to register), and MarineTraffic.

  • Territorial waters data source: Flanders Marine Institute (2019). Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase: Territorial Seas (12NM), version 3. Available online.

Missing Data

  • When we use n/a, it means that the data was not available.

  • If this was for (consecutively) “ship type,” “ship year of build,” and “gross tonnage,” it means that the IMO number was not found on the GISIS database.

  • If this was for seafarer nationality, it means that the nationalities were not listed in the ILO’s database entry.


Fluid Categories

  • The categories “payment”, “repatriation”, and “ILO status” are fluid - as cases are ongoing, things will change. They are correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of update, and will be reviewed with each quarterly update.

Other

  • Ship names and flags change - usually with a change of owner, but not always. The hull is assigned an IMO number, and it is that which stays constant.
  • The registration country of a company is not necessarily its geographic location.


Methodology

Ship locations are taken from the ILO Database where possible. Others have been located using MarineTraffic’s AIS tracking function. As a result, there is variance in the accuracy of the locations of each ship.


When many ships share coordinates, this means they were all listed as being abandoned at the same port, with no further location information given. To avoid overlapping entries, we have dispersed them in a circle (this is why you will sometimes see ships appearing on land).
This map was built in QGIS and uses QGIS2Web, developed by Tom Chadwin.


<<< back