Updated on 1 September 2025
There are more words to denote how seafarers are exploited than one reads in news reports. The following is a list of 20 verbs—single words that I hope will help broaden the discussion of seafarers’ rights to include the less obvious ways these rights are being violated.
abandon: to leave someone and stop providing him with support despite your legal and moral obligation to do so
Example: Shipowners facing financial troubles find it convenient to abandon their crews.
abuse: to treat a person in a way that is unjust, harsh, insulting, or harmful
Example: Seafarers who don’t stand up for their rights are more likely to be abused.
breach: to break a law, an agreement or a promise
Example: Greed drives some ship operators to breach the provisions of ILO Maritime Labour Convention, 2006.
bully: to verbally abuse, threaten and intimidate a person, usually over a period of time
Example: He did not enjoy his time at sea as he was often bullied by the ship’s foreign officers.
commodify: to treat something as a product to be bought or sold. (This is how the term is defined by dictionaries. However, it can also be applied to persons as in “Beauty pageants tend to commodify women.”)
Example: Seafarers have been commodified by an industry that is obsessed with profit.
criminalize/criminalise (UK spelling): to treat somebody as a criminal. (In shipping, the term “criminalization” usually refers to the unwarranted arrest, imprisonment and criminal prosecution of seafarers following a marine accident or the discovery of drugs on board a ship.)
Example: Marine accidents often serve as an excuse to criminalize seafarers.
deceive: to make someone believe what is not true, or to keep the truth hidden in order to take advantage of someone
Example: The crewing agency deceived applicants about the shipboard salaries they would actually be paid.
dehumanize/dehumanise (UK spelling): to treat someone as less than human
Example: Poor onboard accommodation and inadequate food dehumanize the crew.
demean: to lessen the dignity and honour of a person or institution
Example: The use of cadets as unpaid errand boys demeans, not only the individual, but the marine profession itself.
deprive: to prevent someone from having or keeping something (usually something that belongs or should belong to that individual)
Example: Depriving seafarers of access to wifi can worsen loneliness and depression at sea
“Words can be like X-rays, if you use them properly—they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.”
~ Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
discriminate: to treat people differently and unfairly because of their race, gender, or religion
Example: Women seafarers are still discriminated against in the male-dominated world of shipping.
exploit: to use or take advantage of others for your own selfish end
Example: Even his relatives will try to exploit a seafarer who returns home from sea.
harass: to persistently annoy or make someone feel uncomfortable with words or actions; to make unwanted sexual advances on a person
Example: The risk of being sexually harrassed does not deter brave women from going to sea.
humiliate: to make someone feel a loss of pride, dignity, and self-respect
Example: The captain scolded and humiliated the able seaman in front of the other crew members.
maltreat/mistreat: to treat someone badly or in a cruel way
Example: Some of the crew couldn’t stand being mistreated and decided to abandon ship.
objectify: to treat someone as an object or thing and not as a human being
Example: Lack of empathy makes it easy to objectify seafarers.
scam: to take money from someone through deception and trickery
Example: Many seafarers have been scammed by illegal recruiters.
short-change/shortchange: to give someone less than what he or she deserves or expects
Example: They felt short-changed by the new law preventing seafarers from filing tort claims (claims for personal injuries) against shipowners.
skim: to steal money over a period of time in such amounts that the theft is hardly noticed
Example: Manning agents in Manila routinely skim money from the dollar remittances of seafarers.
stonewall: to resort to delaying tactics and refuse to provide information that is requested
Example: The crewing agency stonewalled when families of seafarers inquired about their overdue monthly allotments.
~ Barista Uno
