14 Indians stuck off UAE port without food for 4 months seek rescue

The allIndian crew of MT Beta mostly eat limited portions of plain rice cooked by burning blocks of wood since they are almost out of fuelA group of 14 Indians are reportedly stuck on four merchant vessels anchored in the Gulf of Oman United Arab Emirates for the last four months The vessels reportedly all oil tankers are just 32 nautical miles around 59 km from the port of Khor Fakkan Fujairah UAE They were supposed to set off from the Emirati town for undisclosed locations in early June Not only has the crew comprising only Indians allegedly not been paid since being recruited but it has also begun to run low on ration and fuelWith generators off the vessel is kept in lsquoblackoutrsquo conditionSixteen crew members were recruited on a ninemonth contract by a Mumbaibased crew manning agency Abhay Shipping Pvt Ltd for four Aframax vessels mdash MT motor tanker Beta 7 Indians MT Cityelite 7 MT AL Nouf 2 MT Laowadale 2 mdash and departed from Mumbai for Dubai on June 8 From Dubai they were sent to Fujairah to board the vessels All four anchored vessels are in close proximity of each otherAs per the practice in the shipping industry the destinations of ships are reportedly known only to managers and ownersProvisions running outIn their efforts to be rescued and get paid the crew of MT Beta sent a letter last week to the International Transport Workersrsquo Federation ITF The ITF represents over 45 million transport workers from 150 countries and around 700 unions and ensures safe vessels and decent working conditions for seafarersThe crew sometimes eats just plain rice that it cooks by burning blocks of wood as it has begun to run out of fuelThe letter stated that the ship is running out of provisions mdash fresh water medicines and food mdash and that safety and lifesaving equipment have either expired or are absentCP Singh the second officer of MT Beta who is the third in the command chain after the captain and the first officer is in charge of the vessel The manager with whom the second officer is said to be in contact has assured the crew repeatedly that help is on its way but has allegedly done little elseSingh told midday that MT Beta has provisions for only the next two weeks ldquoWe are running low on fuel The generators are being run for just a few hours every day and the vessel is kept in a lsquoblackoutrsquo condition an emergency procedurerdquo He said written complaints have been sent to the ITF UK Directorate General DG of Shipping Mumbai the Indian Embassy in the UAE the UAE labour ministry and Khor Fakkan port authorities ldquoWe are still waiting for helprdquoIllegally hiredThe Indiansrsquo recruitment allegedly wasnrsquot aboveboard According to Manoj Yadav secretary of Forward Seamenrsquos Union of India Abhay Shipping Pvt Ltd doesnrsquot have the requisite registration and placement service license RPSL to hire sailors It is mandatory for all manning shipping companies to have a DGapproved RPSL number ldquoDespite not having the RPSL the company is still recruiting We are in touch with MT Beta and the other three vessels We have approached DG Shipping and other competent authorities to look into this issue and bring the Indians backrdquo said YadavFuel is fast depleting It is only used to fire up the generator to run the fansHe said the RPSL is akin to a bank guarantee given to DG Shipping by a recruiting agent In case a seamen gets stuck or dies on board a vessel that money can be used to get him back ldquoIt is a mandatory recruitment licence The only option left before DG Shipping is to file a criminal case against the agent and to rescue the crew members via the EmbassyrdquoNo wrongdoing RecruiterAbhay Pandey owner of Abhay Shipping Pvt Ltd admitted to midday that he doesnrsquot have an RPSL ldquoBut I have other mandatory licenses I have ISO 9001 the international standard on quality management systems compliance and an IRS Indian Register of Shipping licence I can supply manpower I just donrsquot have the RPSLrdquo he said The IRS determines compliance under the international ship and port facility security ISPS code for Indian flagships and port facilitiesPandey claimed that the lack of an RPSL doesnrsquot take away the companyrsquos recruitment powers Of the 16 Indians who were sent to Fujairah two have been called back he said ldquoWe are making arrangements to get back the remaining crewrdquoHe said DG Shipping and other authorities concerned are already apprised of the company running without an RPSL