Middle Eastern offshore company Petro Sun Darya is discrediting wage claims made by the crew of its 2,990-bhp anchor-handler PSD 2 (built 1983), which is under arrest in Durban.

Last October, the Tanzanian-flagged PSD 2’s crew filed complaints with authorities in the Mozambican port of Beira claiming they had not been paid for many months.

In January this year, the PSD 2 mysteriously appeared in Durban, South Africa, where its crew promptly had it arrested over the unpaid wages.

After the ship’s arrival in Durban, all but two of the ship’s crew, who came from Iran, Syria, India and Bangladesh, were repatriated. Only the captain and the chief engineer remain onboard.

Petro Sun Darya officials contacted TradeWinds this week to give their side of the story.

The PSD 2 had been working on contract for Mozambique’s National Institute of Hydrography, repairing port buoys until it was damaged in July 2017. Petro Sun Darya blames the ship’s master for mooring too close to a wreck, which it collided with when the tide turned.

Petro Sun Darya alleges the master refused to provide information needed to file an insurance claim for the damage.

False wage claims

The master also refused to hand over command when a new master was sent out to replace him, and instead filed false wage claims with local authorities, Petro Sun Darya says.

According to the firm, it had been paying wages up until the time the ship was off-hire.

It alleges that the master and chief engineer hijacked the ship and sailed it to Durban without permission or clearance papers from Mozambican port authorities.

In response, the company has filed charges in Iran against the master and chief engineer.

The PSD 2 remains under arrest in Durban with claims made against it by the crew and the charterer in Mozambique.

Durban-based lawyers acting on behalf of Petro Sun Darya confirmed that cases pertaining to the PSD2 were ongoing before the courts, but declined to comment any further.

Petro Sun Darya acquired the PSD 2 in 2015.According to the Tanzania registry documentation, the company is owned by Iranian nationals with Dubai addresses. The IHS Ships Register lists Petro Sun Darya as also owning the 6,000-bhp anchor handling tug supply vessel PSD 1 (built 1984).