Team Blitz India
Eleven crew members, including eight Indians, two Indonesians, and one Syrian, are stranded aboard a vessel anchored in Khor Fakkan, according to Khaleej Times.
Quoting the crew, the paper said that they are facing severe shortages of essentials, with minimal food supplies, intermittent electricity, and barely any fuel. On April 5, the sailors embarked on the vessel, Med Sea Fox, which has been anchored in Khor Fakkan Anchorage. “Upon our arrival, we discovered the ship in a state of severe disrepair and unable to start sailing,” Captain Nikhil Bangar told the paper.
“Seeing a good deal, the owner aimed to get the ship ready for sailing. That’s when he hired us to get the ship running. However, in the past 45 days, we haven’t been able to accomplish anything because everything on the ship is in disrepair,” said Bangar. The crew has been stranded on the vessel for nearly two months, attempting to repair engines, generators, and other equipment.
“The condition of all the electricals and electronics is beyond repair. We have been informing the agents and the owners about it, however, they do not bother,” said the captain, adding that numerous pleas for assistance have been largely ignored. “The vessel is in a very bad shape and has had only limited power for twelve consecutive days,” said a crew member.
“There are three generators on board, and two are absolutely out of order. The only operational generator has too many leakages and can run only for two hours to charge our mobile phones,” said a crew member, adding that the vessel lacks emergency equipment.