After an injury at sea, information alone is often not enough. You may be in pain, far from home, uncertain about the diagnosis, worried about wages, and receiving documents from people who understand the system better than you do.
ICR exists to provide the kind of practical, human support we wish injured seafarers had always received. We help people understand what is happening, organise the information, avoid preventable mistakes, and connect with appropriate independent maritime professionals.
Who Can Contact ICR?
ICR can review situations involving crew members, maritime workers, passengers, survivors, and families. For crew members, common issues include:
- injuries and occupational illness;
- delayed or inadequate medical care;
- unsafe working conditions and fatigue;
- maintenance, cure, wages, and contractual benefits;
- repatriation and fit-for-duty disputes;
- harassment, assault, bullying, or retaliation;
- pressure to sign statements or settlements;
- uncertainty about jurisdiction or the correct lawyer.
The full range of matters supported by the network is described on the About Us page.
What Happens When You Contact Us?
1. We Listen to What Happened
You do not need to know the legal terminology or identify the correct claim. Explain the event, your job, the vessel, the injury or problem, what the company has done, and where you are now.
2. We Identify Urgent Priorities
Immediate safety and medical needs come first. If the situation involves urgent danger, emergency treatment, or law enforcement, those services should be contacted before legal case review.
3. We Help Organise the Facts
A clear timeline can reveal missing reports, delayed treatment, changed explanations, unpaid benefits, or approaching deadlines. We may ask for the vessel name, IMO number, contract, accident report, medical records, photographs, and company communications.
4. We Explain the Process in Plain Language
Maritime disputes can involve contracts, arbitration, flag-state law, collective agreements, the MLC, or United States remedies. We help identify the questions that need answers without pretending that one rule applies to every seafarer.
5. We Connect You With Appropriate Legal Support
ICR works with a network of maritime lawyers and other professionals. The suitable lawyer depends on the jurisdiction, type of vessel, contract, employer, and nature of the incident.
6. We Remain a Familiar Point of Contact
A legal process can be difficult to follow, especially across languages and countries. ICR aims to provide continuity and practical guidance while the appropriate professionals handle the legal and medical work.
What Information Should You Send?
Start with what you have. Useful information includes:
- your name, nationality, rank, department, and job;
- vessel name, IMO number, flag, cruise line, or employer;
- date, time, and location of the incident;
- a short description of what happened;
- current symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment;
- where you are now and whether you remain onboard;
- copies of contracts, reports, medical records, photos, and messages;
- any document you have been asked to sign.
Do not delay contact simply because one document is missing.
What ICR Does Not Promise
Trust requires honest limits. ICR does not promise that every situation is a legal case, guarantee compensation, replace emergency medical care, or make decisions for the lawyer handling a matter. The outcome depends on the facts, evidence, law, deadlines, and responsible parties.
We also do not advise people to stop necessary treatment, abandon a vessel, disobey lawful safety instructions, or conceal information.
Why Early Contact Helps
Witnesses leave ships. CCTV may be overwritten. Conditions are cleaned or repaired. Contracts contain deadlines. Medical records can become fragmented after repatriation. Early contact helps identify what should be preserved before it becomes difficult to obtain.
Use the detailed guide Injured While Working on a Cruise Ship and the practical S.O.S. checklist for immediate actions.
Support After Harassment or Assault
Crew members of any gender may experience sexual harassment, coercion, assault, bullying, or retaliation. Safety, medical, psychological, and evidence needs can be different from an ordinary workplace accident. Read Sexual Harassment at Sea: Rights and Reporting Steps for Crew Members.
Why We Describe It as Having Someone in Your Corner
A maritime company may have its own lawyers, insurers, doctors, and procedures. An injured worker should also have someone focused on their questions. Our David vs. Goliath guide explains how knowledge, records, and independent guidance can reduce that imbalance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to pay ICR to ask for help?
The initial ICR guidance and case-review process is presented as free and confidential. Any lawyer’s fee arrangement must be explained separately and in writing.
Can I contact you before reporting the injury?
Yes, but urgent medical care and appropriate official reporting should not be delayed. We can help you think through the documentation.
Can you help if I am already home?
Yes. Preserve repatriation records, medical treatment, wage information, and all communications with the company.
What if I already signed something?
Send a copy. Do not assume it ends every right without review.
ICR provides support and connection to qualified professionals. It is not a law firm representing every person who contacts the platform.
