Stranded sailor wants to see parents
DESPERATE CREW DOCK SHIP IN SHARJAH PORT WITHOUT PERMISSION TO FORCE COMPANY TO PAY THEIR DUES
Desperate crew dock ship in Sharjah port without permission to force company to pay their dues |
The scorching summer heat is becoming unbearable for Subith K. Sukumaran, an Indian sailor on board the vessel MV Sharjah Moon that is docked at Hamriya Port in Sharjah.
What is more agonising for the 24-year-old from Kerala is the fact that he has not seen his ageing parents and younger brother for almost three years.
“I came on a one-year contract and worked for 24 months. I then requested a sign-off, but the company is not letting me go. I have been trying to go home for eight months. I want to see my parents,” he told Gulf News over the phone.
Every week, he said, the company promises to pay his pending salary and send him home. But that remains a promise only.
“They have not paid me for 16 months. Three months ago, my mother fell ill. The company didn’t give me a penny to send home. I can’t even make calls to my parents,” he said, with a choked voice.
Harindra Singh, another oiler, lost his father last year. He has also been frustrated because he is not allowed to go home and is in a bad psychological condition.
The ship’s captain, Jayaprakash Badri, said the vessel with six Indian and one Sri Lankan crew members had been at anchorage in UAE waters since July 2016.
“I got two months’ salary after I joined in May 2016. Ten to 11 months’ salary is pending for me and three other crew members. Our chief engineer from Sri Lanka has to get eight months’ dues.
“Every month, I send sign off request to the company. Our calls are unanswered. Whenever I speak to the office, they say the company is looking forward to issuing sign off and paying salaries.
“It has been over a month since we got any fresh water from the company. I have been sending mails for fresh water and bunker also. They were not replying,” said Capt Badri.
Without fuel, the crew said they have been living mostly in the dark. “We sleep on our deck and have not showered for 10-15 days. We turn on the generator only to use the hotplate for cooking for one hour. We ran out of the wooden planks we used for burning to cook while at anchorage.”
Fed up with the false promises, the crew docked the vessel in Hamriya Port without permission on May 9 and sought the help of social worker Girish Pant to contact the Indian Consulate in Dubai.
Following this, Consul General Vipul visited the sailors on board the ship early this month.
Vipul told Gulf News that the mission had been trying
to persuade the owner and the PRO of the company for last five months to solve the sailors’ issues. “They have been buying time. We have no end in sight for these sailors’ problems.”
“I visited them at the port.
Since then, we have written to the immigration and the department of economic affairs in Sharjah.”
He appreciated the kindheartedness of the port and other local authorities in not taking action against the crew.