FERU

scrapped

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Beached

Beached at Alang 14.08.18

arrived Alang anchorage

arrived Alang anchorage 13.08.18

Agreement regarding salaries of crew settled

The 21 men from the "Royal Grace" reached an agreement with the company management about settlement of their pending dues on Mar 17. Two of the sailors, who were in critical condition, flew to India on the same day, while the remaining men are scheduled to depart on Mar 19. The tanker was sailing towards Nigeria when it was hijacked by Somali pirates on Mar 2, 2012. It is not clear how much ransom was finally given to get the tanker freed from the pirates. A Nigerian sailor had died soon after the hijacking due to poor health. Among those who were freed are 17 Indians, including five from Kerala, two Nigerians, two Bangladeshis and a Pakistani sailor. The sailors, however, had refused to leave the country unless they received at least six months of their pending salary from the company. Family members of the Indian sailors placed political pressure on its government to intervene in the matter. On Mar 16, the Kerala government flew down the Chief Minister’s Secretary who was on a visit to Saudi Arabia to monitor the situation. The crew has now settled to accept payment of three months’ salary. The pending wages will be paid later. The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also had requested the Nigerian government to assist in the matter. The ship’s owner, Tony Apalli, a Nigerian national, moved back to his country following the hijacking and was helping the cause.