4 Indian Seafarers Return To Land After Spending 10 Months On Abandoned Ship Off Istanbul

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Four Indian seafarers stranded on the abandoned container vessel AZRA-C, for 10 months off Turkiye, have been rescued and reached land.

According to reports, the crew had remained onboard the Mongolia-flagged ship moored off Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara since August 2025.

Per International law, a ship should have enough crew members onboard at all times to handle emergencies, whether in port or harbour.However, the crew has not been replaced, and the new crew members have not arrived.

The ship remains unmanned, and its security will be ensured by other means, authorities informed.

The ship’s owners were arrested in January due to a connection with a drug cartel, leaving its fate in limbo.“The hardship experienced by the crew has come to an end,” Selahattin Polat, Turkey representative of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), said.

The ITF and the Marine Employees’ Solidarity Association (DAD-DER) had been providing the crew with fresh drinking water and other essential supplies.

This case shows the increasing issue of vessel abandonments and its impact on the mental and physical health of seafarers.Data from ITF shows that 2025 was the worst year for abandonment, which impacted 6,233 seafarers on 410 ships, with Indian nationals most affected.Most abandonments took place in Turkiye, which accounts for 61 such cases in 2025.Turkey was the country where the most abandonments took place, accounting for 61 cases last year.There are 15 foreign-flagged ships classified as abandoned at anchor in the Sea of Marmara, the latest data reveals.

Source : Marineinsight