You are using an outdated browser For a better experience using this site, please upgrade to a modern web browser. Subscribe Get Daily Email Subscribe --> Contact Us Sign in Home News & Features Compliance Costs Bunker Prices Bunker Intelligence World News Latest Features World Americas EMEA Asia/Pacific Home News & Features World FEATURE: Should the Bunker Industry Do More to Safeguard Seafarer Welfare? FEATURE: Should the Bunker Industry Do More to Safeguard Seafarer Welfare? by Jack Jordan, Editorial Lead - Insights, Ship & Bunker Wednesday July 22, 2026 Tweet Follow @shipandbunker IMO/ILO data and port state inspection records can be used to check shipping firms' performance on seafarer welfare Suzun Marine Fuels is rejecting 2.3% of enquiries on seafarer welfare grounds Bunker industry shows growing interest in engaging with this issue Almost two million seafarers around the world too often face poor working conditions. File Image / Pixabay While the bunker industry is growing increasingly sophisticated in its approach to sanctions compliance, there are those who argue it is neglecting another ethical issue: the welfare of seafarers on board the ships it supplies. The workforce of almost two million seafarers around the world too often face working conditions that would not be tolerated in almost any other industry: crew abandonment, unpaid wages and insufficient provision of food and other supplies. “ The working conditions are so bad because this is the easiest source of short-term finance Databases are available showing the shipping firms with allegations of this kind of misconduct levelled against them. Bunker supplier Suzun Marine Fuels argues the bunker industry should be making better use of this data to ensure it is not working with firms whose ethical standards to not stand up to scrutiny. “I have been on board vessels with human rights problems and working conditions problems and it is really awful,” Can Besev , CEO of Suzun Marine Fuels,