The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) has called on the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) to come to the aid of 10 seafarers onboard a Borneo Bulk Carriers general cargoship who claim they have been abandoned.
In an email exchange between the crew of the 4,400-dwt general cargoship Shashvadhaa 1 (built 2008) and the ITF last week, seen by TradeWinds, the Indian and Pakistani crew of the Malaysian-flagged ship claimed they had not received any wages since July last year.
In addition, they alleged they had been marooned onboard what is effectively a dead ship anchored off Kota Kinabalu, a port on the island of Borneo.
'Dire conditions'
Conditions onboard, they claimed, are dire, with the shipowner providing very little food, fresh water, medicines or other supplies.
“We are feeling weakness day by day. The crew members suffering from skin and different illness. We are losing weight day by day,” the crew stated in the email to the ITF.
The ship, they said, had run out of fuel and the only power available onboard came from a small portable generator when gasoline was supplied.
In a tersely-worded email to the MMEA, ITF campaign advisor John Wood said the Shashvadhaa 1's crew were, under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), deemed to have been abandoned as they had not received their contractual wages for more than two months.
He requested the MMEA live up to its flag-state obligations, which require it to ensure the repatriation and payment of seafarers for up to four months in abandonment cases.
It should not be that difficult for the Malaysian authorities to act on this, notwithstanding their obligations under the MLC. They have everything at their disposal
ITF campaign advisor John Wood
"It should not be that difficult for the Malaysian authorities to act on this, notwithstanding their obligations under the MLC. They have everything at their disposal, including the vessel, to do so," Wood told TradeWinds.
TradeWinds' calls to Borneo Bulk Carriers’ offices in Shah Alam this week went unanswered.
However, in early December the company sent a statement to Malaysia’s Daily Express newspaper blaming the problems on what it termed a lack of support from the crew manning agency. It said it intended to pay the crew within a few days.
Disputed allegations
The company also disputed allegations that it had not been providing fuel, food and support to the crew, and threatened to take legal action against any parties that tarnished its name and reputation.
The crew reiterated this week that they had yet to receive their wages.
The Shashvadhaa 1 was acquired by Borneo Bulk Carriers via single-ship affiliate Straits Kinabalu Shipping in 2013.
The only vessel owned or operated by either company, it has been idle off Kota Kinabalu for at least three years.
