0 `04

No other industry has benefited more from globalisation than the shipping industry. For a long time the world’s waterways have been bustling with activity. 

Yet now, most ship turbines have ground to a halt.

Ship owners, shipyards and ports are all struggling to survive.

0 `30 Insert: top left Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

Las Palmas in Gran Canaria shows the full extent of the plight. The port authority is holding many vessels here, because accounts are unsettled.

This also means that the wages of the sailors haven’t been paid. 

Increasingly, ship owners are simply abandoning their vessels in European waters, leaving their crews in the lurch.

Shipping is a brutal business. 

1’00

Victor Conde is one of the world's active inspectors of the International Maritime Union. With an Italian colleague, he examines the social and juridical standards on board this desolate old tanker.

1’19

The mood on board is dreary. Since August, the crew have been stuck here. The captain has left, and the owners are out of reach. With no money and no information, the sailors are left hanging.

 The men, who come from the Ukraine and Africa, are totally dependent on the support of charities.

Unsurprisingly, the atmosphere is tense….

2 `02 OT Francis from Ghana, sailor (Mark)

"The situation on board is really lousy. For five months now, we have been stuck here. We have no food and no gasoline for our generator. We cannot send money to our families."

2 `19 OT Victor Conde, ITF inspector, Las Palmas (Martin)

"It is completely unreasonable for a ship's crew to have to spend years in such conditions. In such cases one must secure wages for the crew through court proceedings, and enable them to return home."

2 `40

Victor Conde has many shocking accounts of rusty vessels like this one, which have no heating or electricity, no protective equipment and no lifeboats. Often the crews do not know if they will ever reach a port again.

3 `00

For seafarers in other European ports, the social situation is equally precarious, as a glance towards Denmark confirms. There too, sailors are stranded without any money.

3 `14 Insert the top left the Port of Copenhagen, Denmark

For the crew of this coastal freighter in Copenhagen, the day begins with a small gift.

3 `20 OT Morten Bach (Martin)

"Here - I have warm jackets for you."

3 `26

During the winter, several crews were abandoned in Denmark by their owners.

 Each time this happens, the problem must be solved by an inspector from the sailors’ trade union, ITF.

3 `43

The stranded sailors don’t know how they will get home.

3 `51 OT Joseph Kojo, a sailor from Ghana (Mark)

"Now look at our plight. If we ever get away, we are left with empty hands. I have taken out a loan for my family and I'll have to pay interest. "

4 `07 OT Joseph Annobil sailor from Ghana (Martin)

"We thought the captain was only on holiday. But now is clear to us that his company, who owns the ship, went bankrupt. He probably has no more than a cent in his pocket. Hopefully he can still save the company, but he’ll probably never come back. "

4 `25

The inspector tries to find the captain. He has gone into hiding. 

4 `30 (Martin)

"This is Morten Bach of ITF in Denmark. I'm calling from the ship Cormoran. "

(Respite)

Do you know Captain Juls? (Martin)

4 `43 OT Soroka Anatoly, shipmate from Russia (Mark)

"I asked the captain if he had forwarded the money to my Russian bank. This is really a matter of 5 minutes. But in 4 months he has failed to do it. It's never arrived. "

5 `00

The captain is gone. The police are searching for him in northern Germany – his native country.

5 `08 OT Morten Bach, seafarers union Denmark (Martin)

"You can tell him that we will hunt him until we find him. If he does not pay, we can confiscate the ship. " 

5 `20

It is difficult to find a buyer for the ship. There are currently too many boats in the world for far too little freight.

5 `29 OT Morten Bach, seafarers union Denmark (Martin)

"You must show no emotion, and just look at the facts. Now I have at least one number from a bank in Germany, which has loaned the ship. That's a good start.

But it will take a long time - they do not like that. "

5 `54

At least when a crew is left hanging by its owners, the maritime trade union will help. On paper, there is always an international agreement.

6 `03 OT Henrik Berlau, union secretary, Denmark (Mark):

"Our problem is that a ship usually has several owners; banks, pension funds and private individuals. The management is sitting in one country, the flag comes from another, and the sailors from another. Its a huge puzzle and no one takes responsibility. Everyone washes their hands of it. We then have to clean up for these people. Someone has to do it. " 

6 `35 Insert: Port of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

Dealing with this Italian freighter back in Las Palmas, Victor Conde is facing similar problems.

6’50

Despite the warm welcome of the crew, the mood on board quickly plummets. At the end of 2008 there was mutiny aboard this ship. In the course of a dispute a machinist stabbed the captain ... 

7’07

For months now the ship has sat in the port in Las Palmas. For the crew, this involuntary idleness is increasingly becoming a burden, as Sato from Indonesia explains.

At home, his family is waiting for money, but he doesn’t even have the coins for a phone call in his pocket.

7 `30 OT Sato, sailor from Indonesia (Martin)

"The situation is very bad. We have no food, no salary, and yet the diesel has still been sent out to us."

7 `45

Another Indonesian sailor shows the conditions inside his cabin.

8 `17 Insert: Copenhagen

Amidst the misery, there are some positive moments for the crew. For six weeks, the men have had a diet of canned beans and potatoes. Now, twice a week, the sailor's service comes and brings fresh food, books and DVD's.

The sailors had only asked for help when they ran out of oil for heating. For a while they were extremely cold - now they have a full tank again.

8 `47 OT Soren Sorensen, Danish sailor Service (Mark)

"I see that this crew is in a very serious situation. Due to international conventions, we are committed to the welfare state as a port and will continue to be so. But we still need to work more closely with the other Danish authorities to learn quickly from such cases. This has taken too long here. " 

9 `15 OT Morten Bach, (Martin) seafaring unions Denmark

"Tomorrow we’ll go to the police and ask who will pay for the return flight tickets for the crew - two tickets to Ghana and a ticket to Russia. In general, it is taken on by the Foreign Ministry. In any case, it is a Danish authority, which must pay now. And I'll lead the way. "

9 `42

“Just don’t go home without your wages, or you’ll face an angry family”, the sailors are muttering to each other. So they wait in hope and keep the boat in good repair. With the global economy dropping its anchor, it is uncertain when they’ll take to the seas again.

Inserts:

Posted: Patrick A. Hafner, Alexander Steinbach

Camera: Jorgen Söby / Santiago Torres

Editor: Wilfried Rosteck / Barbara Katzelmayer