KOCHI: Twelve Indian seafarers, including the master and crew of the MV Sea Lion, a Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged cargo ship owned by Sea Lion Shipping of Turkey, have been abandoned by the company at the Port of Georgetown, in the South America country of Guyana. They are now seeking the intervention of the Indian government to facilitate their repatriation, according to International Transport Workers Federation (ITF).
Their contracts have expired and they were at sea for eight to 14 months. The company declined their repeated requests for repatriation and has withheld several months’ wages.
Subsequently, Kollam native Adwaith Saravanan, an able seaman on board, filed a complaint with ITF inspectorate at Kochi on February 16, requesting its intervention to get their rights reinstated. Adwaith and Joemon from Wayanad are the two Malayalis in the group.
The ITF inspectorate attempted to contact the crew manager and designated person ashore (DPA) of the vessel in Istanbul, Turkey. The ITF inspector sent a mail to the DPA on February 21 demanding him to arrange immediate repatriation for the crew and payment of pending wages. “However, there has been no response from the company. Besides, we tried contacting the Mumbai-based agent, who had recruited the seafarers but have not been able to get through to him. The ship was unseaworthy. One generator was not working. Blackouts were imposed on alternate days. Moreover, there was no adequate food, drinking water, and provisions on board,” said ITF inspector Thomas Sebastian.
While the vessel berthed at Georgetown to load cargo, the generator was sent for repairs and the ship was shifted to anchorage. However, to the astonishment of the crew, on March 1 replacement crew arrived on board and the company told them that they will be repatriated soon after the completion of formalities. On March 11, the new crew took charge of the vessel and the old crew was shifted to a hotel in Georgetown. Air tickets for March 17 were also issued to them.
When the seafarers arrived at the airport on the day of the travel, they realised the air tickets are fake. They returned to the hotel and tried to contact the company.
But there was no response. The crew has been staying at the hotel since. Meanwhile, the ITF inspector took up the matter with the shipping master in Mumbai and the Mercantile Marine Department Kochi to arrange their repatriation through the Ministry of shipping or external affairs. He did so on the advice of P M Mohammed Haneef, fair practices committee steering group member of ITF, who also requested the ITF to assist the crew at Georgetown port. Subsequently, Sherwood Anthony Clarke, the ITF representative at Georgetown, visited the crew.
“He is extending all possible help, and moral support and also acts as a link with the local agent of the vessel. This is another typical example of flag of convenience shipping. The flag state is not honouring or enforcing Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) provisions. Employers exploit their crew for their convenience. The protection and indemnity (P&I) club of the vessel is unknown in the records. Regulations regarding conditions of employment such as payment of wages, repatriation, and food and catering are violated by the company,” said Thomas, adding the lives of the seafarers are at risk as the situation gets tougher by the day.
SOS from crew
We request the state and Union governments to intervene in the matter earnestly and make arrangements to bring back the crew to their native country without further hardships, Thomas said.