Cash for Crew

The portion of a piracy ransom paid to free the seafarers, treated separately from any sum negotiated for the vessel and cargo. In kidnap-and-ransom practice and under H&M / war-risk and K&R policies, crew ransom is a distinct head of loss with its own coverage and general-average questions, since the seafarers’ release is a humanitarian obligation independent of the property recovery. It became a recurring line item during the Somali piracy peak of 2008 to 2012.