"Stranded on ships, 200,000 seafarers struggle in coronavirus limbo", 19 July 2020

...Indian ship worker Tejasvi Duseja is desperate to go home after months stranded offshore by coronavirus border closures and lockdowns that have left more than 200,000 seafarers in limbo.

From engineers on cargo ships to waiters on luxury cruise liners, ocean-based workers around the world have been caught up in what the United Nations warns is a growing humanitarian crisis that has been blamed for several suicides.

...Seafarers typically work for six to eight months at a stretch before disembarking and flying back to their home countries, with new crews taking their place.

But as the deadly virus whipped around the world and paralysed international travel, that was suddenly impossible.

...Shipping industry groups have expressed their concerns about "suicide and self-harm" among workers in a joint letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said last month some seafarers have been "marooned at sea for 15 months".

An International Labour Organization (ILO) convention widely known as the Seafarers' Bill of Rights limits a worker's single tour of duty to less than 12 months...

Many of those stuck onboard completed their tours more than four months ago and were exhausted, the ILO said last month...