2024-05-21 21:47:14
New Delhi: Just like the final two years, the specter of being launched is hanging over Indian sailors. Actually, not even half a yr has handed and 411 Indian sailors have been launched on ships. Up to now this yr, a complete of 116 ships have been deserted and 1672 sailors are stranded. Which means the Worldwide Transport Staff’ Union (ITF) expects there to be much more circumstances of abandonment this yr than final yr (2023). In 2023, a file 129 ships carrying 1,983 sailors had been launched, together with 401 Indians.
Wage not acquired for a lot of months
ITF has knowledgeable about 16 Indian sailors stranded on two ships operated by the identical firm in UAE. These ships are operated by UAE firm AIM International Transport and Gasoline Provide. These sailors haven’t been paid for months, there isn’t any air con on the ships and there may be additionally a scarcity of meals. The six sailors are on board the Seashine 7 ship, which is anchored in Sharjah. He’s but to be paid again wages of greater than $40,000.
compelled to sleep on deck
Ten Indians are on a ship named Sanshin 7, who’re owed $35,000. The ship flies a Tanzanian flag and was scrapped in September 2022. There may be neither air con nor refrigeration on board, and the generator solely runs for an hour a day. As a result of it’s too sizzling within the cabins, the crew has to sleep on deck. The ITF is at present in talks with the ship’s proprietor.
Of the 116 ships deserted to this point this yr, 75% are working below so-called Flags of Comfort (FOC). The ship Seashine 7 was registered as FOC with the flag of Palau, whereas Tanzania has additionally been declared as FOC by the ITF. A flag of comfort signifies that the ship makes use of the flag of a rustic that’s totally different from the nation that owns the ship. That is achieved to keep away from labor and tax rules. The newest international locations to affix the ITF’s FOC listing are Gabon and Eswatini (previously Swaziland). Eswatini is a rustic that isn’t surrounded by sea and isn’t a member of the Worldwide Maritime Group. Gabon noticed its registry enhance by 675% within the two years following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.