When a shipowner stops paying wages, withdraws essential supplies or fails to arrange a crew member’s return home, the consequences extend beyond an employment dispute. Seafarers may be stranded abroad without income, adequate support or a practical means of leaving the vessel.
For Myanmar seafarers, identifying the available remedies requires consideration of both Myanmar’s recruitment and placement requirements and the applicable international maritime labour framework.
Myanmar’s framework: a responsibility for the recruiting agency
The Department of Marine Administration (DMA) issued Notification No. 1/2025 on 15 October 2025, setting out directions on seafarer recruitment and placement. Its preamble cites sections 24, 25 and 26 of the Myanmar Merchant Shipping Act and the rule-making power under section 294-B(b).
The abandonment provision in paragraph 10 requires the recruitment and placement service that deployed the seafarers to take responsibility for resolving the situation where the shipowner abandons them at a foreign port or elsewhere abroad.
Paragraph 13(b) permits DMA to draw on the service’s security deposit to pay seafarer entitlements determined by the Department, including wage arrears, airfares, accommodation and repatriation costs. This is a mechanism involving DMA’s determination; it does not guarantee automatic or unlimited payment from the deposit.
These provisions should be considered alongside the shipowner’s obligations and any available financial security.
The international framework and its scope
Myanmar ratified the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC) on 25 May 2016. It entered into force for Myanmar on 25 May 2017.
Applicability must nevertheless be assessed for the particular vessel and employment arrangement. Article II excludes fishing vessels and certain other categories. For a Myanmar seafarer working on a foreign-flagged ship, the flag State’s applicable legislation, the seafarer employment agreement (SEA), any collective bargaining agreement and the available financial security must be examined. Nationality alone does not determine the route to recovery.
When does abandonment arise?
Under Standard A2.5.2, paragraph 2, abandonment arises where, in breach of the Convention or the SEA, the shipowner:
- fails to meet repatriation costs;
- leaves the seafarer without necessary maintenance and support; or
- otherwise unilaterally breaks ties with the seafarer, including by failing to pay contractual wages for at least two months.
These are alternative grounds. A seafarer deprived of essential support or entitled repatriation need not necessarily wait until two months of wages are overdue before seeking abandonment assistance.
What does financial security cover?
Standard A2.5.2 requires an effective financial security system for abandonment. It can take the form of insurance, a social security scheme, a national fund or a similar arrangement.
Paragraphs 8–10 provide for prompt assistance on a substantiated request by the seafarer or nominated representative. Coverage includes:
- up to four months of outstanding wages and four months of other outstanding entitlements;
- reasonably incurred expenses, including repatriation; and
- essential support, including food, accommodation, drinking water and necessary medical care, through arrival at home.
The four-month limit concerns wage and entitlement cover under the security system. It does not extinguish a larger underlying wage claim against the shipowner. Paragraph 14 preserves other available rights, claims and remedies.
The relevant abandonment security should be identified specifically. A general reference to P&I insurance does not establish that a particular claim is covered.
Who must arrange repatriation
The shipowner bears primary responsibility. Under Standard A2.5.1, paragraph 5, if the shipowner fails to arrange or fund repatriation for an entitled seafarer, the competent authority of the ratifying flag State must arrange it. If that authority fails, the State from which repatriation is required, or the seafarer’s State of nationality, may arrange repatriation and recover the cost from the flag State.
The joint ILO/IMO Guidelines on how to deal with seafarer abandonment cases also set out coordination steps for flag States, port States and labour-supplying States. These are operational guidelines, rather than a separate convention. They recommend facilitating repatriation while judicial proceedings continue, rather than requiring seafarers to remain stranded pending litigation.
Practical steps for seafarers and their representatives
Preserve the SEA, any collective agreement, wage accounts, bank records and correspondence. Record the vessel’s name, IMO number, flag, location, shipowner and recruiting agency. Obtain the abandonment financial security details and the provider’s claims contact.
Notify the recruiting agency and DMA promptly. Where appropriate, contact the flag State authority, port State authority, relevant Myanmar embassy or consulate, and financial security provider in parallel. Urgent welfare and repatriation needs should be identified separately from the calculation of wage arrears.
For agencies and operators, the practical priority is to maintain verified shipowner details, valid protection arrangements and a clear procedure for responding to complaints.
ILPC provides maritime legal and regulatory advice. For assistance with employment documentation, unpaid wages, repatriation responsibilities or financial security issues, contact info@ilpcmm.com or visit ilpcmm.com.
Disclaimer
This publication is provided for general information only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific advice should be sought in relation to any particular matter.
