Now Reading: 11 months stranded, Indian seafarers seek repatriation from Abu Dhabi
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11 months stranded, Indian seafarers seek repatriation from Abu Dhabi
Indian seafarers aboard the MV Sea Star 2 have been stranded at Mina Zayed Port in Abu Dhabi for 11 months, the Federation of Seafarers’ Unions of India (FSUI) said on Tuesday.…
Indian seafarers aboard the MV Sea Star 2 have been stranded at Mina Zayed Port in Abu Dhabi for 11 months, the Federation of Seafarers’ Unions of India (FSUI) said on Tuesday. The union alleged the crew had not been paid wages for five months and that the shipowner deducted visa and travel expenses from earlier payments. It said the crew’s documents were held by the port authority and called for urgent sign-off and repatriation.
The FSUI urged the Ministry of External Affairs, the Directorate General of Shipping and the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways to intervene. The Embassy of India in the UAE said it was following up with local authorities and confirmed seven seafarers had already been repatriated, with efforts under way for the safe return of the rest. The MV Sea Star 2 is an oil products tanker.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Stranded crews face a specific legal limbo: under the Maritime Labour Convention, shipowners are liable for wages and repatriation, but enforcement falls on flag states and port states. In this case the vessel, an oil tanker, is flagged in Togo, meaning the primary regulatory burden rests with a country with limited enforcement capacity. Indian protocol requires the Directorate General of Shipping to coordinate with the flag state, but progress can stall when the owner is unresponsive. The seven repatriations the embassy confirmed suggest a partial resolution, but the 11-month wait indicates that port-state authority in the UAE, despite being a major shipping hub, does not automatically compel release. The FSUI's call now faces a concrete deadline: the union has given no date, but pressure from the International Transport Workers' Federation and the Indian embassy could force the owner to settle the five months of unpaid wages before the ship sails.
Source: siasat.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
