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It took intervention from the Turkish government to finally rescue four Indian seafarers who had been stuck on a decrepit cargo ship after the owner of the vessel was arrested as part of an International drug sting. While most of the crew was repatriated several months ago, four individuals remained on the ship since July 2025, waiting for replacements and back pay, both of which never arrived.
The vessel named Azra C (4,257 dwt) arrived in Turkey in July 2025, and according to reports, it was awaiting repairs and a planned drydocking. In August 2025, the vessel was inspected and received a whopping 54 deficiencies. Built in 1986, the 60-meter (197-foot) cargo ship had been operating for a Turkish company since 2023 and was registered in Mongolia.
The International Labour Organization lists the vessel abandoned as of October 1, 2025, reporting there were 15 crewmembers: 13 from India, and one each from Egypt and Turkey. The owners and the agents initially assured the ILO that the ship was awaiting repairs and that the back pay would be cleared in 15 days.
By December 2025, India's Directorate General of Shipping was getting involved, and the crew reported that over the next several months, it sought the help of the International Transport Workers' Federation, the port state, the flag state, the harbor master, the P&I, and others.
The situation went from bad to worse when the owner was arrested in January 2026, and the port agents stopped responding, saying they too were not paid. The ITF and others tried to provide basic supplies. By March, the crew wrote to the ILO saying they were down to 800 litres of diesel, no more than 20 days of drinking water, and that the bunkers would run out by the end of the month. They reported they were running the emergency generator for five to six hours for cooking and charging batteries.
In late March, the ILO reports that the majority of the crew were repatriated with partial pay. However, to meet international regulations, four crewmembers were forced to stay behind to maintain the safety of the ship. By May, the four remaining crew wrote the ILO saying they had not been paid in eight to nine months, they only had 30 to 40 liters of diesel still aboard, and no one was helping them.
Turkey's Transport and Infrastructure Minister, Abdulkadir Uralogly heard about the crew's fate in a story in the Turkish daily Hurriyet and ordered that their repatriation be expedited. The paper speculated that the Azra C had been destined for a drug smuggling job, but its engine broke down and the owner switched to another ship, which was captured off the Canary Islands. The agents said the situation was a problem since the arrest, as there was simply no one to talk to about the crew's fate.
Arrangements were made for Turkey's coastal safety authority to take control of the ship. The crew was removed from the ship on its lifeboat at the end of last week and handed over to the consulate to complete their repatriation.
India's Shipping Ministry highlighted just today that it has arranged to repatriate more than 3,500 seafarers, many coming from the ships trapped in the Persian Gulf. The ITF highlights that Indian nationals are the most affected nationality as the number of cases of ship abandonment continues to rise.
The ITF reports 2025 was a record year for abandonments, with 410 ships reported and 6,233 seafarers impacted. Turkey was the worst country for abandonment, with 61 cases last year. So far in 2026, the ITF told the French news agency AFP that an additional 151 cases of abandonment of ships have been reported.
Fuente: Maritime Executive
