Manoj Joy is a captain of a different sort. The incumbent managing director of Sailors Welfare Association (SWA) is busy keeping track of the spread of coronavirus. “Indians are working on numerous ships in several different countries but we have no information about which ships have gone to China in the past month. In case of a confirmed case, our association will give all help to the sailors’ families since they will be quarantined,” says Manoj, who was awarded the Safety at Sea’s prestigious international award ‘Unsung Hero’ in 2018 to honour his efforts in helping seafarers.
In Chennai, the SWA, which is part of the 201-year-old Sailor Society in the UK, runs a free medical project for retired sailors. “SWA has tied up with Voluntary Health Services Hospital, one of the city’s hospitals. The treatment and medicines are free,” he says. In Kasaragod, home to about 3,000 sailors, SWA will have a dedicated vehicle to ferry retired sailors and their families to a hospital in Mangaluru. The society even repaired a sailor’s house in Chennai last year. It also helps families of sailors get due compensation in tragic situations. Jose Mathew Katampally, an engineer on the tug Jupiter VI, went missing with his ship. “No one knows what happened to the ship and its crew. His family received `25 lakh as compensation. The norm is `70 lakh.”
Life at sea is not easy. “Sailors spend lonely lives in their cabins with only mobile phones for company. Some get depressed when they don’t get news from home. Many even throw themselves into the sea,” says Manoj. In the past, sailors had long port stays and would mingle with locals. “Technology and mechanisation have made turnarounds at a port much faster. Due to security concerns, most ports don’t allow sailors to disembark. Things changed after 9/11,” he explains.
The value of sea cadets is down. “For a sea cadet to become an officer, he has to spend 18 months at sea. So, they get on any ship they can,” he says. As a result, many cadets work on ships run by fly-by-night operators. Some of them are abandoned at foreign ports without having being paid, or stranded at sea without food and wages. “We have to help to bring them back. When they die, the fly-by-night operators do not take the responsibility of sending their bodies back home or pay compensation. The SWA is trying to help these distressed sailors to get justice,” says Manoj. Such efforts are bringing a sea of change in the lives of sailors and their folks.