The Derelict Condition of International Shipping

Robert Cole

In the wake of the media frenzy surrounding the grounding of the Ever Given in the Suez Canal, remarkably little attention has been paid to the industry failures that are making incidents of this type more common. International shipping has been thrown into chaos by the pandemic, endangering international trade, billions of dollars in property, and the lives of sailors. None of the industry’s problems are necessarily new, but they have been seriously exacerbated by the pandemic and the economic uncertainty that has accompanied it. 

First and perhaps most seriously is the issue of ship abandonment. When owners can no longer pay for a vessel, they often simply abandon it, often still carrying its cargo and with the crew onboard, stranding both indefinitely. It was this sort of abandonment that led to the presence of the large amounts of fertilizer that exploded in Lebanon late last year, killing hundreds. Crew members are forced to rely on governments to provide them with means to return to their own countries, which can take weeks or months during which they are forced to remain in cramped onboard conditions. A string of bankruptcies during the economic fallout from covid have increased abandonments by upwards of 90%. Others have simply been kept sailing for far longer than intended thanks to covid restrictions, some in excess of a year, a violation of international law. They claim they have not been paid for the extra time worked, nor had access to adequate medical care. Many of the ships they sail on are in terrible condition, leaking toxic waste and experiencing serious breakdowns. 

Why does this matter, and how has it gotten so bad? As the Ever Given demonstrated, cargo ships have great capacity to wreak havoc when they do not behave as intended, and tired sailors manning decrepit ships unsurprisingly have higher accident rates. Damaged ships can cause serious pollution, and delayed transit costs end consumers throughout the global economy. Outside of the pandemic, one of the main reasons the industry is in such bad shape is the failure of international law enforcement. Adherence to the Maritime Labor Convention, which governs the treatment of sailors, is not strictly enforced and many companies evade more stringent inspections by registering in countries such as Panama that are infamous for their lax regulatory environment. International shipping is one of several areas of maritime law that lacks strong international enforcement, a rising issue that must soon be dealt with by a globalizing world. Global leaders, often skittish of handing authority to international arbitrators and legal enforcers, should recognize the net benefit they derive from providing a stronger, more centralized entity to regulate the world’s seas. Inconsistent and poor quality shipping hurts everyone, and fixing it could unite otherwise opposing interests on the international stage.