Sailors ‘forced to drink condensation from AC units’

Sailors on abandoned ships have been cut off from their families and must endure stifling heat while running low on food, water and fuel to run generators.

Many abandoned ships are offshore-supply vessels and tugs, with up to 12 men on board. Some have been anchored for more than a year in UAE territorial waters, about three nautical miles off Al Hamriyah in Sharjah.

Uncertainty over wages adds to the woes of sailors, many of whom are their family’s sole earner.

“I can only pray that we go back. Sometimes I think a seaman’s life is no good,” said one, who has not been paid for a year. “There is no one to take care of my old parents. I can’t contact my family because I have too little balance to call home.

“The summer was the most difficult because there was no diesel to run the generator. There is no proper supply of water and food. Sometimes the company sends food and water but usually it comes three to four days late. We cannot get sleep.”

Most sailors did not want their names or ship identified for fear of repercussions from the owner, because in many cases talks with consular staff and the Federal Transport Authority were continuing.

Paul Burt, regional director of Mission to Seafarers, a charity working in 200 ports and 50 countries, said the period of abandonment had increased from three to six months to more than a year.

In one case last year when supplies ran out for a month, sailors survived by fishing and drinking water from the conSailors

densation of air-conditioning units, Mr Burt said.

“It is not uncommon for us to come across a ship where they have not been paid or had any relief for up to 18 months,” he said. “More crews are being left to their own devices, not receiving salaries, and their suffering tends to increase.”

Another sailor said his wife and child depended on relatives for money. He has been on the ship for 15 months.

“I didn’t contact anyone for help,” he said. “We kept asking the company. But after many, many months we had to ask the embassy and immigration for help.”

Some said they were duped into signing on to abandoned ships. Under maritime law a ship must be manned, so while an abandonment is being resolved new staff are brought in, often with no knowledge of the dispute.

“I didn’t know the ship was in anchorage. I keep asking for sign-off but no one is listening. My life is wasted. My family is in trouble,” a sailor said.

When distress messages are received, charity groups such as Mission to Seafarers, port authorities and consular officials deliver food and supplies.

The sailors include Indians, Sri Lankans, Pakistanis, Filipinos, Indonesians and Tanzanians. Seafarers usually ask for help only when promises to pay wages are broken and they become desperate and frustrated.

Indian consul general Vipul said some unscrupulous agents took advantage of the sailors’ desperation to return home.

“It is the responsibility of the agent to arrange for a signoff from the vessel,” Mr Vipul said. “The agent can get someone else to replace him and pay his salary.

“But they start negotiating after the sailor is stuck for 12 months. They ask them to take six months and leave. Then they get another person to man the ship and save money.”

It is not uncommon for us to come across a ship where they have not been paid or had any relief for up to 18 months PAUL BURT Mission to Seafarers