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Officer stranded along on abandoned ship since four years

The Red Sea Port Authority of Egypt has shirked its responsibility in the case of Mohammad Aisha and the 'Aman'. They have a moral duty to act now, whatever the legal rights and wrongs, said representatives of the union federation representing the stranded seafarer. When the ship was detained at the Suez anchorage in Egypt in July 2017, chief officer Mohammad Aisha had only been on board for two months. Since a court made him the ship’s legal guard’, they have been legally bound together since. He can’t leave her – and the stalled sale of the ship suggests that it can’t leave him. For Aisha, 2021 is his fourth year stuck on his floating prison where he is alone, without power or light. He swims to shore for basics like food and water, risking his life every time he does so. According to the law, the vessel is his problem. In March 2020, the ship ran aground due to rough weather. Since then, no-one has been providing me with fresh water, provisions or diesel oil. Only action by the Egyptian port authorities can free him. They have a range of practical options they can take to get Aisha home to Syria, but as yet none have been taken up. Instead, Egyptian port authorities allowed the ITF’s urgent emails describing the man’s deteriorating, pained condition go unanswered. The ITF has also sought the intervention of the Bahraini flag, where the ship is registered, to help to arrange the urgent repatriation of the man. The rest of the crew went home in September 2019. Since then, Aisha has been in solitary confinement. A doctor who examined him found he was suffering all the symptoms typical of someone imprisoned in poor conditions. He is malnourished, anemic and suffers pain in his legs. He also shows signs of psychological damage relating to his treatment. He requested repatriation many times. But the port authorities were refusing to allow him to leave. As well as getting Aisha medical treatment, the ITF has offered to pay for hotels and flights so that he can go home. But the Egyptian authorities hold his passport and refuse to cooperate to change his situation. To make matters worse, his passport expired on March 22, 2021, making things even more complicated for getting home. The federation this week wrote to the UN’s International Labour Organization asking the global body to step in over the chief officer’s treatment. The latest information was that the ship will be open to sale on March 24.