Supported by the RethinkBlue COST Action, Prof. Çağatay Edgücan Şahin presented research on onboard working conditions on substandard vessels at the 17th European Sociological Association Conference in Warsaw, as part of the Maritime Sociology Research Stream RS14. The research examines how labour conditions aboard older and substandard tonnage remain overlooked in maritime sustainability debates, despite their central importance to the people working at sea.
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2017 and 2023, the project combines 4.5 months of participant observation aboard a substandard bulk carrier in the Black Sea and Sea of Marmara with 54 semi-structured interviews with crew members and shore-based management across Türkiye, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Syria.
The presentation argued that substandard shipping is not simply a regulatory failure, but a structural feature of regional supply chains. Operational costs, deferred maintenance, and market risks are often transferred onto precarious, nationally segmented crews recruited through regional brokers. The session prompted productive discussions on seafarers’ agency, structural violence at sea, and the importance of embedding social justice and fair labour standards within the Blue Economy agenda.
