THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An Indian tug, which found itself in trouble in Maldives over alleged damage to coral reefs, has been stranded at Vizhinjam for over three months now, with the crew complaining that its owners owe them wages for several months.
The tug, MV Brahmekshra, has been berthed at the small port at Vizhinjam since December 1, where it was allowed to enter after the crew reported that they had no water on board. Six of the crew, including captain Venkatesh Pappu, have since then left the tug. But four members, including Malayali chief engineer T S Sreekumar, hailing from Edapally, are still aboard it, awaiting a response from the owners. Both the captain and the chief engineer said that Affable Fisheries, Mumbai, which owns the tug, owed them over `6 lakh each.
They have also lodged complaints with the Mercantile Marine Department and the Directorate General of Shipping in this regard. The tug had set sail from Tuticorin with a consignment of construction rocks to Maldives on September 1.
The vessel was charged with causing damage to coral reefs after it’s keel grounded near the archipelago. Following this, the tug was detained by Maldivian authorities from October 2 to November end. The tug’s captain Venkatesh Pappu left the tug on December 8.
The Chief Officer, the second engineer and two able seamen left on December 31. “The owners signed me off without paying my salary. I’m owed `6.80 lakh,” Venkatesh Pappu said. “I have lodged an online complaint with both the DG Shipping and the MMD. But there has been no response so far,” he said.“My contract period was from October 1 to November 1. But, we were detained by the Maldivian authorities, and now, there is no response from the tug’s owners,” said Sreekumar. The port authorities at Vizhinjam were unavailable for comment.
Tug Owners Told to Address Issue
The stand-off related to MV Brahmekshara is continuing at a time when the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) has ordered its owners to address the issue. In a letter to Affable Fisheries Pvt Ltd, the owner of the tug, the MMD had asked it to “take urgent measures to ensure the safety and security of the vessel by providing adequate manning in accordance with Minimum Safe Manning certificate issued to the vessel and confirm that safety of the vessel and its crew is not compromised at any time”. Further, the MMD has also asked the firm to honour the contract with the tug’s chief engineer T S Sreekumar regarding his salary.