Seventeen seafarers have been left stranded on a Turkish-owned vessel off Algeria for the past seven months.
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has raised the alarm over the case of the 28,564-dwt Sea Honest (built 1997), owned by Turkey’s Vera Shipping.
Two Turkish and 15 Indian nationals have been stranded unpaid and without provisions in the port of Algiers since early summer.
ITF inspector Mohamed Arrachedi, said: “The crew are on the brink. I believe there’s a real risk of suicide – that’s how desperate they are.
“The company has washed its hands of them, yet continues to operate other vessels.
“It’s a human disgrace, I believe they are happy to see the men reach breaking point in the hope that they will leave without a cent of what they’re owed.”
Arrachedi also wrote a letter to the bulker’s owner Vera Shipping, urging the company to take action.
The Sea Honest is added to the growing list of ships with abandoned crews on board.
As TradeWinds has reported, Greece’s NewLead Holdings has been facing issues with unpaid crews on a couple of vessels.
Seamen on a vessel owned by another Greek owner, FreeSeas, are also still stranded off Oman on the 30,800-dwt Free Neptune (built 1996).
