Indian recruiters are failing to raise the alarm about seafarers they have placed being abandoned and arrested at foreign ports, according to shipping officials.

“Deceitful practices” during the recruitment process have led to seafarers being stranded, particularly in Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, India’s directorate general of shipping said in a circular.

The directorate did not detail the practices but Indian officials in March said they had logged more than 200 cases since 2020 of seafarers being placed on ships they were not signed up to.