Crew of tanker aground off the UAE to be repatriated after finally receiving pay settlement.
Five mariners have stepped ashore for the first time in four years after their vessel, the MT Iba, was abandoned by its owners, reports the Guardian. The crew of the 5,000 ton Iba said they had experienced “a living hell” after the tanker’s owner’s stopped paying their wages almost three years ago. They now expect to be repatriated in March.
Stranded just meters from shore, the mariners reached a settlement with the ship’s new owners and have agreed to accept 65% to 70% of the wages that are owed to them. The crew met representatives of Alco Shipping on the beach at Umm Al Quwain on Monday.
The new owners, Shark Power Marine Services, paid the wage settlement via the Mission to Seafarers charity, which negotiated on their behalf.
An inspection is underway to assess the damage to the Iba after she dragged her anchor and ran aground two and a half weeks ago. Nay Win, the 53-year-old chief engineer, who is from Myanmar, said: “The buyer has promised us we will get home and I hope I will get home after 5 March. My family are really happy.”
Mission to Seafarers regional director in the Middle East and South Asia, the Rev Andy Bowerman, said: “Hopefully, all being well, 15 days from now, they will be at the port of Dubai and ready to go home.
“The crew came off and swam to the shore. Nay Win was in tears. He was off the boat, there was a cheque in my hands. But unfortunately, they could not just step down and go home.”
The seafarers have agreed to stay aboard to do essential work and maintenance in preparation for the ship being towed to Dubai. They will then be paid the other half of the money they are owed.
It is hoped that new legislation will prevent similar cases from happening again, enabling port authorities to arrest abandoned ships and auction them without court involvement.
Mohamed Arrachedi, Arab world and Iran network coordinator for the International Transport Worker’s Federation said the Iba case was a “symptom that something very wrong exists and has to change… The seafarers are the workforce that keeps ships at sea. Their rights, wellbeing, wages, conditions and welfare must be at the centre of priorities”.
