Six Asian sailors stuck on ship near Ajman port

Picture used for illustrative purposes alone

Six sailors are struggling without food, fresh drinking water and other basic necessities on a ship named Faryal anchored near Ajman Port. The five Indians and a Bangladeshi are stuck almost 10 nautical miles (18-20km) away from the port.
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The ship is owned by a Sharjah-based company, Kinetic Energy Lubricants. Khaleej Times tried reaching out to the company owner and officials, but our phone calls or messages were not answered.
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Srichand Dhaka hails from Rajasthan in India. The chief engineer has been on the vessel for the last 18 months. He told Khaleej Times, "Some of us are stuck on the ship for 22 months now, others for 36 months. Every day is a challenge for us. We were told by the company to compromise on our salaries. I am ready to do so now, because I just want to get out of here and meet my family".
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The ship's captain, Manoj Kumar, said: "It's very difficult for us to live without food and drinking water. We're surviving on borrowed food like bread or dry fruits from other vessels. For water, we're boiling the tank water and drinking it. I am here for the past 4 months and have not been paid anything yet.
"We are always promised by the owner that we will be paid soon, but it's lingering on for months. Now, he has sent a message that we will get our salaries in another 2-3 days but God knows what will happen. We are fed up of this struggle."
According to Reverend Nelson Fernandez, a Mission to Seafarers representative who oversees RAK and the Northern Emirates operations, there is another vessel (SL Star) almost 8 nautical miles (12-13 km) away from Ajman, carrying 16 people comprising Indians, Burmese and Pakistanis, in a similar situation. He said: "The contract of this ship expired nine months ago and these seafarers have not been paid since then. Somehow, they are surviving on the ship. It looks like the ship has been abandoned by the owner."
Reverend Nelson Fernandez added: "We have provided food and water to these two vessels for 3-4 weeks. In the vessel Faryal's case, I was assured by the owner on September 25 that he would pay the sailors' salaries and send over food, water and other essentials, but nothing has happened yet."
ankita@khaleejtimes.com