ITF Warns Abandoned Tanker Crew is Caught in Sanctions on Illicit Oil Trade
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is calling attention to the fate of 19 seafarers abandoned on a sanctioned product tanker that has been lying off the UAE for months. The organization has been warning that seafarer abandonment is on track for its worst year, but the situation of the Global Peace (6,191 dwt) is compounded by the fact that the tanker was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in April.
The ship has been in the anchorage off Al Hamriyah since approximately February. The ITF points out that there are 17 Indian nationals aboard, along with one crewmember from Bangladesh and one from Ukraine. They have been aboard for as much as 15 months, well above the 11-month maximum in the Maritime Labour Convention.
Complicating this case are the U.S. sanctions imposed against the UAE-based companies Prime Tankers and Glory International in April 2025 as part of the U.S.’s latest moves against the Iranian oil trade. The U.S. designated Indian national Jugwinder Singh Brar, who it said owns multiple shipping companies with a fleet of nearly 30 vessels, many of which operate as part of Iran’s “shadow fleet.” Brar, a ship captain, the U.S. said, had assembled a fleet mostly of Handysize tankers that were operating in coastal waters. It said he was conducting ship-to-ship transfers and blending oil and products from “shadow fleet” vessels, smugglers, and fishing vessels, and selling the products illegally to fund Iran.
“This is a shocking case of abandonment that shines a light on how seafarers can be unseen victims of the illicit oil trade – it’s imperative that the UAE’s maritime authorities act now to save these seafarers and put an end to their ordeal,” said ITF Inspectorate Coordinator, Steve Trowsdale.
The Global Peace, a product tanker built in 2010, appeared to have been acquired in 2021 for this trade. Its last known flag was the Cook Islands, but it currently has no known flag or insurance. ITF reports it has filed reports and listed the vessel in the joint abandonment database of the International Maritime Organization and International Labour Organization.
ITF has warned that as of August, there were 2,648 cases of seafarer abandonment recorded across 259 vessels compared to 3,133 seafarers abandoned in all of 2024. That was up 87 percent from 2023. It says the Middle East is the current hotspot for abandonment, with 32 vessels abandoned in the UAE in the first eight months of 2025.
They note that the Global Peace crew’s right to repatriation has been ignored. They also report that the seafarers’ contracts refer to “fictitious ITF collective bargaining agreements.” They are calling on the UAE authorities and others to intervene.