A perfect storm of chartering disputes, inflexible Covid rules and slow bureaucracy has left 18 seafarers stuck for months on an idle tanker in Singapore.
The episode concerns the 69,400-dwt Strofades (built 2006), one of several ships of Greece's troubled Eletson Corp that were arrested in March by CSIC Leasing, the leasing arm of China Shipbuilding Industry Corp.
Only three of the Strofades' 21 crew members have been repatriated since. The remaining members cannot go home until Singapore maritime authorities, Greek flag state officials and the vessel's operators manage to coordinate.
The ship's Filipino cook and a Georgian engineer have been on board for 15 and 16 months respectively. On 18 November, a Greek second mate will have clocked up 12 months on the vessel.
Despite the arrest, Eletson continues to provision the ship and none of the crew has so far complained about any lack of food, water or medicine.
Everybody, however, has asked to be repatriated. In the hope of expediting his homecoming, one officer has even resigned his commission.
But the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has rebuffed the requests, citing anti-Covid rules under which vessels undergoing a crew change must depart port within 48 hours. This is impossible in the case of the Strofades, which is arrested.
Slowly moving into action
On 7 October, the MPA proposed a compromise. The Strofades crew would be replaced with local seafarers from Singapore, on condition that Greek authorities reduce the ship's mandatory crewing requirements.
Eletson has already asked Greek authorities to issue the necessary papers and started looking in Singapore for a new crew, TradeWinds was told.
The Strofades crew, however, have not heard of any development since.
"We demand that the [Greek] government and the merchant marine ministry intervene immediately to repatriate the trapped seafarers," Piraeus-based seafarer union PNO said on 1 November.
Even if all goes well eventually, just 11 out of the 18 seafarers currently on board will be immediately repatriated — probably the ones who have been on board longest. Ten of the crew were hired in February.
The Strofades is one of four tankers that Eletson refinanced with CSIC Leasing in the summer of 2017. The $65.5m deal — CSIC's first ship lease transaction — was to refinance a balloon payment of loans secured on the vessels, which Eletson bought from Greek peer LMZ Transoil during the 2007 shipping boom for more than $60m apiece.
According to CSIC, Eletson had been falling short on payments. It is unclear where the dispute currently stands.
