EIGHTEEN crew members on board abandoned ships in the Port of Durban have been starving and living in inhumane conditions, some for omore than five years, until South African organisations stepped in to assist.
In a statement today, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) said the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) had declared three ships abandoned in January.
According to Samsa, these include the Tanzanian flagged PSD2 and PSD104 sister offshore supply vessels and the MT Fairy Tale, which is a Belize registered tanker.
It said the MT Fairy Tale and the PSD2 had been in the port of Durban for over five years while the PSD104 had docked at the port in January 2022.
The stranded seafarers include 11 Indians, an Iranian and six Bangladeshi nationals.
The plight of these seafarers was brought to light after the Samsa seafarers’ welfare office in Durban together with non-governmental organisations, the Mission to Seafarers and Meals on Wheels SA, discovered that the crews were starving.
Sibusiso Rantsoabe, who is the Samsa manager for occupational health, safety and seafarers’ welfare, said South Africans responded positively and speedily with donations that have ensured the supply of enough food and other necessities.
“The crew are now also able to contact their families through the generosity of the Mission to Seafarers who provided them with Wi-Fi routers,” he said.
Samsa said support was also being received from the International Transport Federation (ITF) which had assisted the crew members regarding legal matters which would now go before the courts.
“The International Transport Federation has also provided money for food via the Mission to Seafarers, which is used to supplement whatever is provided by the two charity organisations,” it said.
Rantsoabe said at the moment the seafarers are very grateful and feel that they have enough food to last them through February.
“The ITF has also procured fuel for the two vessels that can take fuel, which will help run the engine and generators.”
Rantsoabe added that arrangements were made with port authorities among other departments for the seafarers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 on February 9, 2022.
Samsa deputy chief operations officer, Captain Vernon Keller, applauded the efforts of all those involved.
Keller said as an ex-seafarer, it pained him to know that there are still seafarers who are being treated even worse than during the pandemic by unscrupulous ship owners and managers.
“Administrations should stand up across the world and say enough is enough. If these seafarers were airline crew, the world would stand up and listen, so why are we not affording seafarers the same respect. Seafarers have truly become the forgotten few,” he said.
THE MERCURY