The government of Djibouti has released all crew members from two abandoned Probulk Shipping & Trading bulkers after they were sold.
Following their release, the West of England protection and indemnity club has accused Djibouti of treating the crew members as "hostages", and has called for action by international organisations.
The crew members have been stuck on the 45,700-dwt Ptolemeos (built 1995) and the 46,700-dwt Arybbas (built 1996) for months, in some cases more than a year.
Chief officer Florin Vedeanu, the last crew member remaining on the Ptolemeos, arrived home in Romania on Sunday, according to West of England. He had been on board the ship for over 14 months.
All crew members remaining on Arybbas were set to leave Djibouti for Manila via Addis Ababa on Monday.
They had replaced that ship's original crew in December 2019 in an operation that has been compared to a hostage swap.
Djibouti has drawn heavy criticism for its alleged disrespect law and international obligations in its treatment of the crew, who were allegedly treated as hostages to secure local port authority claims against the owner.
The West of England has accused the Djibouti government of ignoring its obligations in the matter.
The club pointed to months of concerted action and appeals by itself, the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and the foreign ministries of flag state Liberia and several crew origin states.
Now the club is calling on the same authorities to draw the necessary consequences when the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) comes up for revision, to include provisions aimed at preventing such action by other governments.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the club laid all the blame on the Djibouti government.
"Despite the best and significant efforts of West, the Liberia flag, officers from ILO and IMO, ICS and ITF, these cases were resolved only by virtue of the sale of both ships to a new owner," the club wrote in a statement published on the ILO website devoted to abandonment of seafarers.
"The authorities in Djibouti remained fixed in their position throughout the period of these abandonments and refused to facilitate the repatriation of abandoned seafarers until or unless they were replaced by other seafarers who in turn risked abandonment."
West of England said the handling of the cases is a cause of deep concern for the International Group of P&I Clubs.
"We ask that the social partners, ICS and ITF, consider presenting a joint statement or possibly draft a resolution for consideration at the forthcoming Special Tripartite Committee [session] on the MLC in April 2021, which could and should describe the need for MLC states parties to adhere to their treaty obligations, to respect abandoned seafarers and not treat them as hostages to be exchanged for others," the insurer said.
TradeWinds has previously reported on the September 2019 abandonment of the ship and the subsequent disappearance of former owner Probulk from its Greek offices.
Circumstances of the fresh sale remain unclear. But the International Group has previously accused Djibouti courts of rejecting attempts by creditors including the West of England to arrest and auction the ship over their claims, and accused Djibouti authorities of attempting to arrange a sale outside the courts for the benefit of Djibouti alone, ignoring claims of the P&I club and seven other legitimate creditors.
In July, the International Group protested both Djibouti's treatment of seafarers and its alleged attempt to sell the ship and keep the cash.
"In parallel to private procedures before the Djibouti courts, it seems that the port authorities are trying to arrange the vessels’ auction pursuant to a unilateral and administrative decision, which suggests they may want to sell the vessels and keep all of the proceeds without the arresting parties having any claim to any of the proceeds," the International Group wrote at the time.
West of England's total expenses are understood to go well beyond what it was obligated to cover. As of July, the club had paid out over $2.7m including the four months of wages.
An official of the West of England was not immediately available for comment beyond the 22 November statement. An official of the Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority was not immediately available for comment.
