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Crew of abandoned bulk carrier may return home

The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) reported that the 19 remaining crewmembers of the abandoned 'Ula' will soon be headed home, bringing their two-year ordeal to a close at last. For one crewmember, it will mark the end of a 31-month stay on board. The 'Ula' was abandoned by her owner, the Aswan Trading and Contracting, off the coast of Iran in 2019. Without financial backing or a port of destination, the 25 members of her original crew began to run low on fresh water and food. Their wages went unpaid. ITF's Middle East coordinator, Mohamed Arrachedi, stepped in and helped to secure some of the crew's wages from the owner. However, the case dragged on into 2020, and the COVID-19 shutdown put efforts to fully resolve the situation on hold. ITF sought to get the crew off the vessel in Kuwait, but Kuwaiti COVID-related restrictions on border movements prevented that course of action. Meanwhile, wage payments became intermittent again. In October 2020, once Kuwaiti restrictions on movement had lifted, six crew members got off the vessel without back wages and flew home. The remaining 19 stayed on board, still waiting for their payment. In Jan 2021, with no end to the ordeal in sight, the crew launched a hunger strike. With the ITF's help, they asked Kuwaiti authorities to pay their wages in the shipowner's stead and help them to fly home. Kuwait declined to help with their pay, but said that it would arrange travel if needed. The standoff continued until June, when the crew had made an arrangement with the Kuwaiti government and would finally be headed home. The crew's back pay was still in limbo: they must wait on the outcome of a lawsuit seeking to recover their wages. If successful, the ship will be sold and their pay will be returned. The vessel's open registry flag state declined to take action regarding the seafarers' unpaid wages, despite frequent updates and appeals from the captain. Under the Maritime Labour Convention (Regulation 2.5 – Repatriation) a vessel’s flag state is required to ensure that the crew are repatriated at the conclusion of their contracts, and should step in to do this itself if the shipowner fails to do so or if the crew are abandoned. Report with photo and video: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/after-hunger-strike-crew-of-abandoned-bulker-finally-heads-home

19 crew members have launched a hunger strike to protest their abandonment

The 19 crew members aboard the 'Ula' have launched a hunger strike to protest their abandonment at the port of Shuaiba, Kuwait. They were demanding back pay totaling more than $400,000, along with immediate repatriation. Since Jan 7, 2021, they have refused all food, and they told the ITF that they will not eat while they have no wages to feed their families. Six have already been hospitalized for treatment and returned to the ship. The crew has been on board the vessel for 14 months – some for longer than 19 months. One has been 26 months on board. They were asking Kuwait as the port state to replace them with local crew, so that they can go home to their families. They have not been paid for 11 months. The ITF has been in contact with the ship's Qatari owner since Sep 2019, and it has tried to secure the crew's wages and the basic supplies necessary for their wellbeing. When the ITF first got a call for help from the crew, the Ula was in Iran, and she had no fuel and little food and water. The ITF continued pushing for back pay, and the owner came forward with some of the money owed to the crew. In April 2020, the ITF pushed for the vessel to be allowed to call at Shuaiba, Kuwait, where it has remained since. The crew have not been allowed ashore. Wage payments stopped for a third time, and the situation on board grew tense. The master contacted Kuwaiti authorities and the vessel's flag state, Palau, and reported a mutiny. Four crewmembers reportedly had to be locked in their cabins. In May 2020, Kuwaiti officials discovered that the shipowning company's chairman was a fugitive sought by law enforcement officials in Qatar. After discussion, Palau decided to deflag the vessel, putting the full responsibility for the management of the case on Kuwait, according to ITF. Six crew signed off without pay in September, but 19 more were remaining on board. While local maritime officials have provided them with basic necessities, they still have not been paid and have been unable to support their families, ITF reported. With their hunger strike well into its third week, they increasingly run the risk of a fatal outcome.

Abandoned crew started hunger strike

The crew of the 'Ula' which was abandoned by its owner and flag state is staging a hunger strike to call attention to their plight, according to the International Transport Workers’ Federation. Desperate to get their back wages and return home the crew turned to this action. The crew, which consists of Indian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, and Bangladeshi seafarers, has been stuck on the ship for the past 11 months at the port of Shuaiba, Kuwait. According to the ITF, the hunger strike began on Jan 7, 2021, in their effort to get off the ship and recover more than $400,000 in wages owed to them. The seafarers’ lives is at risk if they continue to refuse food and water. They are reporting that six of the crew were briefly hospitalized to stabilize their blood pressure and sugar levels. They were later returned to the ship. Most of the crew have been on board for 14 months – and some have now spent over two years on board. These seafarers are simply asking Kuwait to replace them with a local crew so that they can go home to their families. The Qatari ship owner abandoned the ship in Kuwait. The AIS data has not registered a position in over a year and was last shown heading to Doha in Qatar. The ship’s registration was terminated in September 2020 and today the ship is officially considered to be flagless. Palau has failed to do its job. The ITF repeatedly raised the lack of provisions and wages owed, but no action has been taken. The ITF became involved in the case after seeing the situation the crew finds itself caught in and turned to the authorities in the port for assistance. Since the ship is now flagless, it is left up to the Kuwaiti maritime authorities to resolve the situation. The ITF has a legal and moral responsibility to assist the seafarers.