in
Biography & Personal Stories
—
Trapped at Sea: The Man Who Became a Prisoner on His Own Ghost Ship for 4 Years
When his ship's owners went bankrupt, a Syrian seafarer was made its 'legal guardian' by an Egyptian court. This bizarre ruling trapped Mohammad Aisha for four years on a powerless, abandoned vessel, turning his life into a solitary nightmare until he was finally freed.
For most, a ship is a symbol of travel and freedom. But for Mohammad Aisha, the container vessel MV Aman became a floating prison. For four agonizing years, he was the sole inhabitant of a powerless, rusting hulk adrift in Egyptian waters, trapped not by waves or weather, but by a bizarre legal ruling. His story is a harrowing look into the hidden crisis of seafarer abandonment.
A Routine Job Becomes a Nightmare
In May 2017, Mohammad, a Syrian chief officer, joined the crew of the MV Aman. Just two months later, the ship was detained at the Egyptian port of Adabiya. Its safety equipment and classification certificates had expired. What should have been a temporary issue spiraled into a catastrophe. The ship's Lebanese contractors failed to pay for fuel, and its Bahraini owners ran into financial trouble. One by one, crew members were repatriated, but as the ship's chief officer, Mohammad was designated its legal guardian by a local court.
He had no idea what the designation meant until the rest of the crew, including the captain, had left. Suddenly, he was legally bound to the ship and forbidden from leaving Egypt. His passport was confiscated. The ship that was once his workplace was now his cage.
Life in a Floating Coffin
By August 2019, Mohammad was completely alone. The MV Aman had no power, meaning no light, no sanitation, and no refrigeration. His life became a grim routine of survival. He described the vessel as a ghost ship, a place where nights were filled with a terrifying silence.
You can't see anything. You can't hear anything. It's like you're in a coffin.
With no electricity, his phone was often dead, cutting him off from the outside world. To get food, water, and charge his phone, he had to row to shore in a small boat—a journey that became impossible when the weather turned. He spoke of watching other ships pass by, their lights twinkling, feeling utterly forgotten. The psychological toll was immense. He learned that his mother, a central figure in his life, had passed away while he was trapped, unable to be with his family.
The Fight for Freedom
The case was a stark example of seafarer abandonment, a crisis where ship owners discard vessels and their crews to avoid financial obligations. Mohammad's situation was particularly cruel due to the 'legal guardian' status, a measure meant to ensure a vessel isn't left unattended, but which in his case, created a human rights disaster. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), a global union federation, took up his cause. For months, they lobbied Egyptian authorities and highlighted his plight.
A breakthrough came unexpectedly. In March 2021, a storm ripped the MV Aman from its anchorage and blew it aground just a few miles from the shoreline. While dangerous, the event brought his situation into plain sight. Finally, after four years of relentless advocacy and international pressure, the ITF succeeded. Mohammad was released from his legal obligations.
In April 2021, he was finally on a plane, heading home to his family in Syria. His ordeal, while extreme, shines a light on the thousands of other seafarers who are abandoned on ships around the world each year, often left unpaid, undersupplied, and with no way to get home.