Crew are the last to be paid and the least able to enforce. A vessel arrives at Karachi, wages are months in arrears, the owner is unreachable, and the crew are told to wait — on a ship with dwindling stores and no bunkers.

Seafarers in this position generally do not know that they hold one of the strongest claims in maritime law.

Wages carry a maritime lien

Unpaid crew wages give rise to a maritime lien over the vessel. That is not an ordinary debt claim. It attaches to the ship itself, travels with her, and ranks highly — ahead of mortgagees in the order of priorities.

Practically, that means crew can arrest the vessel through the admiralty jurisdiction of the High Court of Sindh, and their claim ranks near the front when she is sold or security provided. See arresting a ship in Pakistan.

The threat of arrest is frequently enough. Owners, charterers, P&I clubs and managers move quickly once a vessel is detained, because a detained ship costs more per day than the arrears.

What crew should preserve

Before anything else, secure copies of:

  • The seafarer's employment agreement or contract
  • Wage accounts and payslips, and the record of what has been paid
  • The crew list and your seafarer's book or discharge record
  • Log entries relevant to hours, incidents or complaints
  • Correspondence with the master, manager or owner about non-payment
  • Evidence of the vessel's condition — stores, food, water, fuel, medical supplies — if abandonment is developing

Photograph what you can. Keep it off the ship's systems and on your own device.

Abandonment

Abandonment — where an owner fails to provide wages, maintenance and support, or repatriation — carries specific obligations under the international framework governing seafarers' rights, including a requirement for financial security to cover outstanding wages and repatriation costs.

Where a vessel calling at a Pakistani port is abandoned, the routes available include:

  • The owner's financial security provider, which is intended for exactly this
  • Port state control and the maritime authorities
  • The flag state and, where relevant, the seafarer's own state
  • Arrest of the vessel to secure the wage claim
  • Seafarers' welfare organisations and unions, which are frequently the fastest practical source of food, water and support

Do not leave the vessel without advice if you can avoid it — but equally, do not stay in unsafe conditions. Take advice quickly; both positions can be protected.

Repatriation

Seafarers have a right to repatriation at the shipowner's expense in defined circumstances — contract expiry, illness or injury, shipwreck, insolvency or sale of the vessel, and abandonment.

Where the owner fails to arrange it, the obligation can fall on the financial security provider, and ultimately arrangements involving the flag state may be engaged.

Practical point: do not sign a document waiving wage claims in exchange for a flight home. Repatriation is a right, not consideration for your arrears. Crew are routinely presented with exactly that trade and it is frequently unlawful.

Injury and death

Injury on board engages the employment agreement, the applicable collective agreement where one exists, and the owner's liability insurance.

Preserve: the accident report, log entries, medical records from the initial treatment, witness details, and photographs of the location and equipment involved.

Where the injury occurs in Pakistani waters or the vessel is here, claims can be pursued in the admiralty jurisdiction, and injury claims may also attract a maritime lien depending on the circumstances.

For owners, managers and manning agents

The obligations run the other way too, and the exposure is real.

Ensure employment agreements comply with the applicable framework, that financial security is in place and current, that wages are paid on time and accounted for, and that repatriation is arranged when it falls due. A vessel arrested for crew wages at Karachi is an expensive way to learn this.

Manning agents operating in Pakistan have their own regulatory position and should not assume the owner's default is only the owner's problem.

Pakistani seafarers working abroad

Where a Pakistani national is serving on a foreign vessel and the problem arises overseas, the position is governed principally by the flag state and the place where the ship is.

We can prepare and attest the Pakistani-side documentation, deal with matters continuing at home under a power of attorney, and coordinate with lawyers or unions in the relevant jurisdiction. See giving a power of attorney from abroad.

Consultancy and advice on Pakistani law only — we do not advise on foreign law, and we say so where the matter belongs elsewhere.

How the firm can help

The firm has practised at Pakistan's principal port since 1959 and appears in the admiralty jurisdiction of the High Court of Sindh.

We act for crew in wage, abandonment, repatriation and injury claims, including vessel arrest, and for owners, managers and insurers responding to them.

Crew matters are urgent, and we treat them as such — a vessel may sail within days. Telephone the chambers — (021) 3263 7006.