Maritime Industry Resources to Counter Human Trafficking

Survivors of human trafficking report being subjected to the crime through all modes of transport, including maritime. Human traffickers recruit, transport, and exploit their victims via commercial shipping, fishing vessels, cruise lines, and private yachts—from ships at sea to coastal and inland ports.

This page offers information, training, printable materials, graphics, and resources for maritime industry personnel to counter human trafficking.

Maritime-Related Data

Transportation-related data on human trafficking includes the International Organization for Migration’s Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative’s 2020 analysis of over 80,000 individuals subjected to human trafficking from 171 countries. The data indicates that nearly 80 percent of international human trafficking cases crossed official points of entry, including approximately one percent by boat, and 12 percent crossed unofficial points of entry by boat.

Survivors of human trafficking report being subjected to the crime through all modes of transport. The NGO United Against Slavery conducted a National Outreach Survey for Transportation in 2021 that included 159 survivor respondents that utilized transportation during recruitment, exploitation, and extraction or escape. The survey found that 81 percent of 107 survivors of human trafficking utilized transportation during their recruitment, 76 percent used transportation during the course of their exploitation, and 52 percent stated that transportation facilitated their exit or escape from their trafficking situation.

Indicators of Human Trafficking in Maritime Travel

As a maritime-sector employee, you play a critical role in preventing, recognizing, and reporting suspected instances of human trafficking in and around vessels and ports.

Learn the signs or indicators of human trafficking, which can be observed in the port during check-in, security checks, or boarding. They can also be present on the vessel itself.

Initiatives and Training

Transportation Leaders Against Human Trafficking

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Leaders Against Human Trafficking (TLAHT) initiative is comprised of transportation and travel industry stakeholders working jointly to maximize their collective impact in combating human trafficking. TLAHT offers a 20-minute multimodal training video for transportation employees and the traveling public. Access TLAHT’s multimodal human trafficking awareness training.

Awareness Materials and Resources

Download, share, and display posters, pocket cards, social media graphics, and other graphics to help spread the message on how to identify and report suspected instances of human trafficking. Posters and social media graphics include a QR code that links to the TLAHT awareness campaign page. We request that users sign the TLAHT pledge to utilize the materials.