A suezmax crew owed wages and enduring food and water shortages have been told that the mariners must be patient during the coronavirus crisis.
Indian seafarers on board the 151,000-dwt Gulf Sky (built 1998) said they have not been paid for three months while anchored at Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
They contacted UK charity Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) to highlight their plight.
The situation has been complicated by the arrest of the ship in January in a dispute over the sale by Greece's Polembros Shipping to Taif Mining Services of Oman in October last year.
Polembros was investigated and later cleared by the US over the alleged links to Iranian trading of two buyers identified by the US, and is now trying to recover $10m from the deal that is currently being held by a US bank.
Joginder Singh, the master of the Gulf Sky, has raised serious concerns about the welfare of the 28 seafarers.
He said they have suffered from inadequate supplies of food, fresh water and fuel, as well as medical supplies and lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the outbreak.
Water being 'rationed'
The crew stated they have been on water rationing since December 2019, with only two hours of supply each day, and claim that they have run out of meat and vegetables on a number of occasions.
"Additionally it has been reported that the promised provision of individual bunks has never materialised, so the crew have no option but to share bunks and the vessel is likely to go into blackout soon," HRAS said.
Captain Singh told the charity that the mother of one of the crew members recently had surgery for a brain tumour.
"Not only was the surgery delayed for want of funds, the post-surgery care is also very expensive," the master said. "He is in such a situation that he can’t even share his problems with his family as they themselves are under stress.
"Add to it, his brother, who is a graduate, is unemployed and [he] has a sister of marriageable age. His sister’s marriage is also getting delayed for want of funds. I am worried he might slip into depression."
Captain Singh said another seafarer's mother had to delay eye surgery.
Some of the crew members have been on the ship since October last year.
Captain Singh said bank loans were already hard to come by for contract employees who have gaps in their employment.
"This situation will only make us completely ineligible for any loans in the future," he said.
"Some of us have had to take loans from relatives or manage household essentials by buying them on credit from shops. These shopkeepers charge exorbitant interest rates for the same."
He said the situation adds to "humiliation" that the seafarers have already suffered as a result of financial stresses.
Jewellery pawned
Captain Singh said: "In some cases, the financial state was so horrible that they had to mortgage their mother's [or] wife’s jewellery to arrange for the money. Now with this corona pandemic, the job situation has gone from bad to worse to terrible."
According to the ship's protection and indemnity certificate of insurance and entry, the management of the vessel was assigned to Mumbai-registered United Islands Maritime Ventures.
HRAS also contacted manning agency Seven Seas Navigation of Mumbai.
United Islands told HRAS that the seafarers must show patience and understanding during the global pandemic in terms of repayment and repatriation.
The company assured the charity that the company intends to repatriate the seafarers when lockdown eases and flights are reopened.
The company has acknowledged delay in paying the men and justified this as a ramification of the Covid-19 disruption to the banking sector, HRAS said.
The manager stated that all basic provisions have been delivered.
Money pledged
The manager said there are "not many" outstanding salaries, given the chaos of the pandemic.
They will receive their money before signing off, the company pledged.
The vessel's register, Dominican Maritime Administration, said its highest priority is the welfare of the seafarers on board the vessel, encouraging HRAS' role in raising awareness on the situation on board.
The flag started complaint procedures, giving the operator until 28 May to settle the wages.
"Noting the ongoing challenges and restrictions resulting from the Covid pandemic, the current case study once again highlights the issues faced by seafarers," HRAS said.
"Human Rights at Sea continues to engage with all stakeholders in this matter, and will continue to both track and publicly highlight the issues raised, as well as the outcome reached."
Troubled history
The crew situation comes as Polembros Shipping continues to pursue the buyer of the vessel after it was cleared of wrongdoing by the US government over the sale.
The alleged buyers, Iranian nationals Amir Dianat and Kamran Lajmiri, were charged on 1 May with fraudulently using the US financial system. Dianat and his company, Taif Mining Services, were sanctioned, TradeWinds reported.
The US alleges Dianat and Lajmiri set up a web of shell companies registered around the world to buy the Gulf Sky for the benefit of Iran's oil industry, which the US has maintained is used to fund its military.
However, Polembros told TradeWinds that all of the due diligence done by the company showed the buyer was controlled by a "wealthy Omani family", and that the outfit had signed statements stipulating it had nothing to do with Iran.
The shipowner has started arbitration in London to try to recover the funds. The case was expected to have been heard by the UAE's Supreme Court at the end of the May.
At the same time, the US government is looking to seize the $10m held in a US bank identified as Wells Fargo, along with the $2.3m deposit that was paid to Polembros.
