The MV Tamim Aldar was one of several ships abandoned by Elite Way Marine Services off the coast of the UAE with sailors stranded onboard. As of July 2019 the remaining four crew members (two Indians, two Eritreans) had been trapped 25 miles of the UAE for 33 months and in highly unsafe living and working condition. The men's salaries were allegedly pending since March 2016 and they had been stuck on board the ship since September 2017.

In May 2019, the ship's owner offered the crew payment of 50% of the owed wages; the majority of the crew accepted this with no further negotiation. In June 2019, the remaining four crew members left the ship in the one remaining lifeboat in desperation, but were forcibly returned to the ship by the UAE coastguard. The four sailors were later towed back to a UAE port.

As of August 8th 2019, the crew had been ashore in the UAE awaiting the resolution of their case; they had informed Human Rights at Sea that their case had been lodged as a criminal complaint with the UAE Coastguard.

These cases highlight the UAE’s reputation as amongst "the worst culprits" for abandoning seafarers, according to Jan Engel de Boer, senior legal officer at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Cases of ship abandonment in the Gulf have increased dramatically in the past two years and have been compared to modern slavery by the IMO and rights groups. Further, although a Maritime Labour Convention amendment allows abandoned seafarers to contact ships’ insurers after two months of overdue wages with a guarantee of four months’ pay, the UAE has yet to sign up to the Convention.

NGO Human Rights at Sea blames poor management by maritime companies as the root cause. Human Rights at Sea first became aware of the MV Tamim Aldar case in late 2018 and has since consistently advocated for justice for the workers.

In December 2019, it was reported in the National that the four seafarers had finalised an agreement with their employer to receive 80% of their wages. They had been abandoned onboard the Tamim Aldar for 33 months and owed a total of US$250,000 between them.