https://www.businessinsider.com/cruise-line-crew-workers-lose-salaries-benefits-over-coronavirus-2020-4 https://www.businessinsider.com/cruise-line-crew-workers

https://www.businessinsider.com/cruise-line-crew-workers-lose-salaries-benefits-over-coronavirus-2020-4 https://www.businessinsider.com/cruise-line-crew-workers-los... They tend to work as contractors on a limited term contract and international maritime labor laws are unlikely to require it. Note also the country of registry for the ships may have more lax labor laws too. (edit) The only instance of unemployment being mentioned in international maritime labor laws I've found is https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:91:0::NO::P91_SECTION:MLCA_AMEND_A2 https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:91:0::NO::... > Regulation 2.6 – Seafarer compensation for the ship’s loss or foundering > Purpose: To ensure that seafarers are compensated when a ship is lost or has foundered > 1. Seafarers are entitled to adequate compensation in the case of injury, loss or unemployment arising from the ship’s loss or foundering. This very specifically deals with ships sinking. Not "ok, no work everyone off." A delicate balance: The seafarers’ employment agreement, the system of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 and the role of flag States - https://hal.science/hal-01470314/document https://hal.science/hal-01470314/document also touches on unemployment (there's a single mention of it).