<span>Shipping disputes that expose vulnerable seafarers to</span><span> drawn-out legal cases that leave them stranded at sea without pay are not exclusive to the UAE.</span> <span>Reports in the UK claim 15 Indian crew working on oilfields in the North Sea have been abandoned for seven months in poor living conditions on a supply vessel near Great Yarmouth, on the east coast of England.</span> <span>It is the latest example of how shipping companies, paying lower wages, hire workers to fulfil the mandatory legal requirements for crew.</span> <span>In June, a 16-man crew of Indian and Pakistani sailors </span><span>were trapped on board the 330-metre </span><span><em>MT Zoya 1</em><strong><em> </em></strong></span><span>awaiting clearance to come ashore off the Sharjah coast, a similar case to that of the crew on </span><span>the <em>MV Azraqmoiah</em><strong> </strong>container ship.</span> <span>Charities and human rights groups said as many as 500 vessels can be anchored offshore from the UAE at any time, waiting to load cargo, unload, or switch crews.</span> <span>Of those, only a small percentage ever become embroiled in any kind of legal dispute, usually over unpaid contracts. But it can leave scores of sailors exposed. </span> <span>The UK P&I Club, a leading shipping </span><span>insurer, reported suicides at sea increased from 4.4 per cent in 2014 to 15.3 per cent in 2017.</span> <span>The Missing Seafarers & Fishers Reporting Programme is a register to build an accurate international database of the numbers and status of seafarers and fishermen missing or lost at sea, anywhere in the world. </span><span>It can be accessed via the Human Rights at Sea group's webpage.</span>
