Seventeen sailors have been stranded aboard a vessel, Tag Navya, anchored north of JNPT (near Nhava Jetty) for over 40 days, with no sign of respite. The owner of the vessel, a firm called Tag Offshore, allegedly accused of not paying the fuel bills and also non-payment of salaries to the crew, it seems, has now abandoned the ship.

The crew has repeatedly requested the Directorate General of Shipping (DG shipping) permission to disembark, but hasn't received a response yet. Without this, they cannot leave the ship in the middle of the sea as it will amount to a legal offence. Meanwhile, the crew, not wishing to be identified, worries that they have fuel only for three more days left on board, after which the vessel will face a complete blackout.