GULF SKY

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Crew members recount ordeal

Crew members of the 'Gulf Sky' told investigators armed men from a smaller vessel posing as surveyors boarded the MT Gulf Sky near Khor Fakkan on July 5, 2020. The vessel had sailed to Bandar Abbas, where it docked on July 7 and disappeared from AIS. The crew accounts were given to investigators from the flag state Dominica Maritime Administratio in an official report published on July 19. “The crew indicates they were under duress, as they allege, they were held up at gunpoint, had their hands tied by armed robbers using cable ties, and were later blindfolded when disembarking the vessel. The disappearance of the vessel was likely facilitated by the intended owners of the vessel, or more broadly by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It appears that the actors intended to bring the vessel to Iran to further the aim of distributing Iranian state oil.” At the time of the hijacking, the vessel had been held by UAE authorities since January 27, 2020, two days after it arrived in Khor Fakkan, due to a dispute between its former and current owners. Investigators painted a complex picture of how the vessel had changed hands several times, latterly for $11.7 million. A criminal complaint filed in the US against the ship’s owners meant the 'Gulf Sky' was prohibited from leaving its position at anchorage in UAE waters. The crew told the investigators that uniformed men who boarded the ship claimed to be from Turkey, but spoke in Arabic and Farsi. Shortly after they arrived on board they took weapons out of bags and pointed them at the crew. One of the hijackers had one eye, and a bald man who claimed to represent the ship’s owner wore a black mask and goggles. Once in Iran, 26 of the crew were released and taken to an airport to be flown home to New Delhi, India. Two others were released several weeks later. Interviews were given to the investigators by the ship’s master Captain Joginder Singh, Jatin Mithran, Patnaik Sumar, Suneet Kumar, Afzal Cook and Amit Diwakar. Captain Singh told that his crew are owed tens of thousands of dollars they fear they will never see. None of the men have been paid since last July and were collectively owed $175,000 in wages. Captain Singh was owed $38,500 after joining the ship on February 27, 2020. Wages are usually paid via an agent, in this case, Metro Marine Shipping Agencies which had no update on if or when the salaries would be paid. “We have been trying to contact everyone concerned, but we have had no outcome to now. These funds have to be paid by the vessel’s owners and managers, who are responsible to pay crew wages on time. For several months, the crew has been requesting to all concerned authorities to help us to get our wages and basic requirements."

Trouble in canal lock

The "Krempertor", enroute from Zeebrugge to Soelvesborg, encountered trouble upon entering the southern lock of the Kiel Canal in Brundsbüttel on Fb 18, 2018,, at 2.53 a.m. The police investigated the incident, and the ship continued the voyage at 3.30 a.m., ETA Soelvesborg Feb 19, 1 p.m.

Death of master avoidable accident

The death of a captain onboard the "Krempertor" in the night of Sep 16 off the south Devon coast was being treated by police as an avoidable accident. The captain went down into an enclosed hold to investigate an alarm that was sounding. He died from injuries sustained after he fell into the hold. The vessel which was about 40 nautical miles off south Devon was brought to Cattedown Wharves in Plymouth on Sep 17.