Unpaid and stranded sailors in UAE seek justice

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Unpaid and stranded sailors in UAE seek justice

Abu Dhabi - As per international maritime law, the men cannot abandon their vessel and come to the shore.

by

Anjana Sankar

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Published: Fri 22 Mar 2019, 11:00 PM

Last updated: Sun 24 Mar 2019, 8:55 AM

Stranded in the sea for over two years, the plight of 10 sailors onboard a cargo vessel off the Sharjah waters are worsening by day. Sick and unpaid for months, the crewmen of MV Azraqmoiah have been forced to live under deplorable conditions at sea. "We are collapsing, physically and emotionally," one of the crewmen said.
"How long will we wait? For how long will we live away from our families? We are human beings," Gurunathan, chief engineer, told Khaleej Times over the phone.
Hailing from Tamil Nadu, Gurunathan has been stranded on the ship for 18 months and has not been paid except for a month. "The company owes me $54,400. My property back home got completely destroyed in a cyclone two months ago. My family including my parents and siblings need my support."
All the crewmen - eight from India, and two from Sudan and Tanzania - are at their wits end as months have passed without any solution to the legal problems their vessel is entangled in.
Elite Way Marine Services, the company that owns the vessel, reportedly owes millions to bunkering supply companies and the UAE Federal Transport Authority (FTA) has filed a legal case against them.
As Khaleej Times reported earlier, all commercial activities of the company's vessels are banned from operating in the UAE ports and waters as effective from June 2018. The FTA has already issued a circular to the effect.
The company had eight vessels held up at various shores in the UAE with over 30 sailors are onboard - all unpaid and unable to go home. The company owes $250,000 in unpaid salaries to the 10 crewmen of MV Azraqmoiah alone, as per legal sources.
Despite several attempts, Khaleej Times could not reach Elite Way Marine Services for a comment.
The passports of the crew members onboard Azraqmoiah have been confiscated by the authorities and as per the international maritime law, the men cannot abandon their vessel and come to the shore.
Captain Ayyappan Swaminathan of the vessel said conditions onboard have worsened after they lodged complaint with the FTA last year. "The company has stopped sending us provisions for past 75 days. They are not treating us as human beings. There is no fresh water and oil for cooking," said the captain. "We are falling sick. There are crew members who are diabetic and some are developing skin diseases because of unhygienic conditions. We are forced to live in complete black-out because there is not enough fuel. We are living in hell."
According to him, a colleague's father died a few months ago and still the company did not do anything to send him home. "He could not attend his father's funeral. What was his fault?"
Swaminathan himself is going through an emotional trauma. "I miss my wife and eight-year-old daughter, Aniha. Sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night and asks for me. I feel guilty as a father that I am not there for her."
He says he has not been home for over two years now. "I am onboard for 26 months and with 19 months of unpaid salaries. My family is really struggling as I am unable to send them money," said Swaminathan. "We have trust on authorities. We are all desperately waiting for safe repatriation," he added.
anjana@khaleejtimes.com


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