The fishers, six from Indonesia and six from Angola, are owed USD68,420. They are currently aboard the vessel in Mindelo, Cape Verde, where they are stranded with no clear timeline for payment or repatriation.  “This is a horrific situation being faced by this innocent crew of fishers,” said Gonzalo Galan, ITF Inspector, Fishers’ Support Coordination, at the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).

“After eight months without pay, the fishers have been left completely unable to support themselves and their families back home. They are desperately calling for the only just solution possible: for them to finally receive their wages and to be repatriated home safely and without delay.”

The vessel is owned by Somar – Produtos do Mar Lda, a Portuguese company with Spanish funding. The shipowner, who cites financial hardship, has repeatedly promised the crew that their long-overdue wages would be paid, but these assurances have proven false.   The ITF has added the case to the IMO/ILO Abandonment of Seafarers Database.   The case constitutes a serious breach of the ILO Work in Fishing Convention, C188, which Portugal ratified in 2019, making its provisions fully applicable to Portuguese-flagged fishing vessels. Under C188, fishing vessel owners are required to provide regular payment of wages, ensure decent living and working conditions, and guarantee the safe repatriation of fishers.

Galan added: “It is extremely concerning that these situations continue to occur on European-owned vessels. Despite national and international regulations, European ships are repeatedly involved in cases where we see abuses against fishers from outside Europe – often from the Global South – who are left completely defenceless with no effective mechanisms to protect their rights.”

The ITF is urging European fishing industry employers to sit down at the bargaining table to negotiate a collective agreement that provides real protection for foreign crews working on vessels owned by European capital.