Downturn spells strife for seafarers.

On a rusting Turkish tanker called Rhone off the Spanish north African port of Ceuta, 15 stranded seafarers desperately want to go home. Abandoned by their employer, they are owed three months' salary and have no money to get back to their families. After two weeks they are low on food and water, and have been reduced to begging for help to survive.

I got to hear about this ship from my good friend Jose Manuel Ortega, an inspector with the International Transport Workers Federation. He is based in Algeciras now, but I first met him years ago when he was working in La Coruña. He helped me with a story I was working on, introducing me to the widow and the brother of two Spanish sailors who died on a rustbucket called the Kristal. Jose is dealing with the Turkish crew now, fighting on their behalf and doing whatever he can to get them home. He is tenacious in his work and I know they are in good hands.

The men on the Rhone are among hundreds of mariners around the world who have been forsaken by ship owners who cannot afford to stay in business. In Ceuta, the Turkish owner, Ortak Denizcilik Sanayi, ditched the vessel when Spanish port inspectors said it was structurally unsound and detained it. To repair it was too expensive, particularly at a time when business was bad.

This is the bottom end of the shipping industry, but these 15 seafarers are not alone. The economic downturn has hit the maritime sector hard and there are crews in similar situations in ports around the globe.

For many shipowners who cannot find work and are facing financial ruin, the simplest option is often to turn their backs on their vessels and the men on board.

According to the ITF, at least 370 seafarers have faced abandonment so far this year. Of those, about 200 are still stuck on board their vessels surviving on the goodwill of port officials and local charities.

The real situation is probably be far worse however, because many ships are lying idle, manned by skeleton crews while they wait for work. For many of those crews, the situation is little better than for those who are abandoned.