Invisible backbone of global trade

2026-01-29 - 00:01

Amina Munir & Amna Hashmi WHEN policymakers discuss maritime security, supply-chain resilience or the future of global trade, the focus is almost always on vessels, ports, chokepoints and technology. Far less visible, yet no less fundamental, is the human labour that sustains this vast maritime system. Seaborne labour remains one of the most crucial but under-investigated dimensions of maritime relations, even as its role in economic stability, sustainability and crisis management becomes increasingly significant. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), nearly 80–90 percent of global trade by volume is transported by sea, with over 10.6 billion tonnes of cargo shipped annually. This system depends on an estimated 1.8–2 million merchant seafarers working across container, bulk, tanker and specialized vessels. More than 70 percent of food and other essential goods are transported through maritime routes, making seafarers indispensable to global food security and daily consumption (International Chamber of Shipping). Despite this centrality, maritime policy debates tend to treat labour as a background variable rather than a strategic pillar. Trade resilience, naval logistics and port efficiency are often built on the implicit assumption of an uninterrupted supply of skilled seafarers—an assumption rarely questioned until it is disrupted. Seafaring is empirically recognized as one of the world’s most hazardous occupations. A historic Danish occupational health study revealed that accidental mortality among seafarers was over eleven times higher than among shore-based working-age men (International Labour Organization). Long working hours, fatigue, exposure to dangerous machinery and environmental risks remain intrinsic to shipboard life, even under the regulatory framework of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006). These vulnerabilities are further intensified by cost-minimization strategies in global shipping. Recent qualitative studies highlight the impact of precarious employment on nutrition, food quality and overall well-being on board ships, even though seafarers sustain global supply chains (Baum-Talmor et al., 2024). This paradox is stark: the labour that feeds the world often operates under conditions that undermine its own health and safety. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the political invisibility of seaborne labour. At its peak, nearly 1.9 million seafarers were stranded at sea due to disrupted crew changes, many forced to work beyond legal contract limits (International Maritime Organization). While framed largely as a humanitarian crisis, many states were slow to recognize seafarers as key workers, delaying access to medical care, repatriation and shore leave (Doumbia-Henry, 2020). Fishing crews were even more marginalized, as their rights fall outside the MLC framework (Vandergeest et al., 2021). Despite shipping’s economic and strategic importance, scholarship on seafarer welfare remains limited. Reviews of maritime labour law and port geography literature reveal a consistent emphasis on infrastructure and logistics, with labour largely sidelined as an analytical concern (Exarchopoulos et al., 2018; Warren et al., 2025). This distortion is particularly evident in debates on maritime automation, where human-centred research remains fragmented and limited (Li et al., 2024). Seafarers play a vital role in safety, environmental compliance, operational reliability and sustainability (Desai Shan et al., 2021). Violations of their rights compromise not only human security but also maritime safety, environmental protection and the long-term sustainability of the maritime workforce. Green supply chains, decarbonization goals and resilient trade networks ultimately depend on a skilled, protected and motivated seaborne labour force. —The authors are associated with the Centre of Excellence (MCE), Pakistan Navy War College (PNWC) and are regular columnists.