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Captain and five crew members stranded since four years on abandoned ship

An Indian captain and his five-member crew have been stranded in Sri Lanka for the past four years and unable to leave owing to lingering legal issues between the owner of the 'Sai Arambh' and the local authorities. The 71-year-old captain-Mushtaq Ahmed Kapade in a complaint to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) said that he and his remaining crew were experiencing untold hardships and forced to depend on meagre handouts from charitable organisations for survival while living on the vessel at Colombo Port. The 'Sai Arambh' with 19 crew members on board had arrived at the port in late 2019 and was subsequently detained on a court order after the crew complained on non-payment of wages among other issues. 15 crew members left the country for India but the captain and the remaining crew cannot abandon the vessel according to maritime laws and legal requirements. The ITF along with the National Union of Seafarers Sri Lanka and the Mission to Seamen had been providing relief to the crew for nearly four years. The vessel’s owner-SPS Marin based in Mumbai had not only refused to pay the wages of the crew but was also refusing to cooperate which has resulted in the delay to solve the matter over these years. The vessel was fast deteriorating and could even take in water and probably go down if the matter is not solved at the earliest. The captain and crew cannot be allowed to leave the vessel until there is a replacement and the authorities are not in a position to hire Seafarers owing to the lack of funds while shipping companies are not prepared to offer crew on a credit basis. The Commercial High Court has also been informed on the developing situation. The biggest fear is that the vessel could sink at any time -Salvaging the wreck would be the responsibility of the local authorities at a huge cost and at present there would not be sufficient funds for such an operation. The wreck would also obstruct the shipping lanes to and from the port resulting in loss of vital revenue to the country. The vessel had already been auctioned some two months ago through a court order but the local bidder has so far failed to deposit the money.

CAPTAIN TAREK 9115456

VSL IS DUE AT PORT OKHA ON 14.03.2010