Crew stranded without food, water in Khor Fakkan after owner abandons ship

Abu Dhabi: Fourteen crewmen have been stranded for months without food and water on a ship anchored at Khor Fakkan, XPRESS has learnt.

“We are sick and dying. There is no clean water to drink or cook. We are unpaid and living like hostages in the sea,” Smigin Subramanian, third engineer of the Singaporean ship Iron Monger 3,” told XPRESS by phone.

“We want to escape from this living hell,” he said.

The crew includes 12 Indians and two Pakistanis.

“Our company has not paid our salaries for six months now. Four of us were brought from Kerala to Dubai on January 17 on a six-month contract by recruiting agents Pontus Ship Mgmt. The plan was to sail to China, demolish the ship and sell it as scrap, or at least that was what we were told,” Subramanian, 28, said.

Other Indian crew members are from the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. The captain and chief engineer are from Pakistan. The ship is owned by Singapore-based NOS Ship management Pvt Ltd.

The crewmen said they are living in constant danger. “The ship does not have any safety apparatus. The fire alarms and navigators are not working The medicines are all expired and our only communication with the outside world is through our personal phones,” said Sreejith. Kumar, another crew member.

Out of provisions

Two weeks ago the crew ran out of provisions and water and had to survive without food and electricity for almost a week.

“We informed the company. But they did not bother to do anything.

“There was a complete black-out for seven days early this month. We had to sleep on the deck,” said crew member Ali Kundiganduge.

The crewmen said there was another blackout for five days in January, but it was bearable because of the cool weather.

The men said they have serious health issues because of the unhygienic conditions they are forced to live in.

“The ship is rusted all over. The water pipes are corroded and we have to bathe and cook in filthy, yellow water. Many of us have diarrhoea and skin problems,” Subramanian said.

Pushed to their limits, four of the desperate crew wrote to the government of India and the Indian missions in the UAE seeking urgent help.

The UAE port authorities swung into action last week, and supplies reached the crew. “We have enough provisions to last for another 20 days. But that does not solve our problem. We need our salaries and want to go home safe. We do not know how long we can survive like this,” said Kumar.

Subramanian, who is getting married on August 18, is desperate. “I don’t know whether I will make it on time for my marriage. We are pleading to the UAE and Indian authorities to rescue us from this mental and physical harassment.”

The Indian Consulate in an e-mail to XPRESS stated they had written to the company in Singapore, to the recruiting agents in India and UAE as well as to the port authorities of Khor Fakkan.

“On June 13 because of delayed response from Fleet Manager [of the company], the Indian Consulate Dubai alerted the Indian High Commission in Singapore and requested intervention to resolve this issue, via email. On 13th the crew sent a mail to Abu Dhabi indicating that in the evening of 13th “fuel was supplied on board due the intervention of Consulate....” It seems the Seamaster (LLC) arranged fuel immediately after intervention by the Indian Consulate Dubai,” the Consulate said.

An e-mail sent to the Singaporean firm by XPRESS, didn’t elicit any response.

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