Dubai: Eleven crewmen marooned aboard a ship without fuel off Khor Fakkan in Sharjah are making a final plea for their lives to be saved.
Three Muslim members also rue the fact they can’t observe the fast during Ramadan because of their helpless situation. “We have been in total blackout for the last three days and were told there would be refuelling on Tuesday night, but that didn’t happen. We have been cooking only once and sleeping on the deck.
“I wish I could observe the Ramadan fast but it is impossible as we have next to no food and water left,” says Ali K, a boatswain aboard the doomed Iron Monger 3 that has been anchored 8 nautical miles off Khor Fakkan for months.
“Four crewmen have already left the ship in desperate circumstances on a boat. One of them was vomiting blood and close to death.
“We are the ones left behind, virtually without anything,” said Smigin Subramanian, the ship’s third engineer, who like the rest of the crew hasn’t been paid since he was contracted by the shipping company almost seven months ago.
bad to worse
More than three weeks since XPRESS first exposed the appalling situation of the seamen abandoned by NOS Ship Management, the Singaporean company that owns the vessel, things have gone from bad to worse.
“Last month when a similar blackout happened, we got temporary provisions for about 20 days after having written to the Indian government officials. Our company had apparently even promised the Indian Consulate in Dubai that we would be released by June 30 but clearly that hasn’t happened,” says Subramaniam, who was hired on a monthly salary of $4,500 (Dh16,528) and is due to get married in August.
“Plus we are hearing rumours everyday about the company being bankrupt,” said another member of the suffering lot.
A representative of Sea Master, local agent of NOS Ship Management, said on condition of anonymity that they stopped rendering all services to the company because of non-payment. The person also indicated that refuelling could have possibly not taken place for the same reason.
When XPRESS contacted the Indian Consulate, they said they didn’t have any further update. All efforts to reach NOS owners in Singapore have so far yielded no result.
