Sailor aboard hijacked vessel says crew had to fend for itself

A sailor aboard merchant vessel MV Jaikur-I, detained in Somalia since October last year, on Tuesday said the crew had to fend for itself and survived on the food given by personnel of other ships.

"The ship's owners did not do anything for us...and we could not leave since port authorities would not permit us to do so," Manoj Singh, one of the sailors who was on the vessel, said.

"We had no food and were told by the owner of the cargo that we would not be allowed to take anything from the cargo to consume. We would meet with the crew of other ships and ask them for food and other supplies to survive," he said.

The ship was grounded as it was being taken into the Mogadishu port and the engine room was flooded due to which the vessel was lodged near the port and could not reach the anchorage, he said.

Fourteen Indian sailors aboard the vessel, owned by a Dubai-based shipping firm and bearing a Panama flag, who had been detained on the ship due to dispute over cargo, were released and arrived in the city from Nairobi on Tuesday.

The Indian crew members then contacted the Indian High Commission in Nairobi for assistance, Singh said.

"On four occasions, the Indian High Commission had obtained tickets for us to return home but we were prevented from doing so by the port manager who was allegedly acting on instructions of the cargo owner," he claimed.

The crew finally managed to leave after the ship's owners arranged for a Somalian crew to man the ship, Singh said, adding the condition of other crew members was not known to them.

Presently, the problem for the 14 Indian sailors was non-payment of dues by the ship's owners and having to pay the Indian government for their travel arrangements home, he said.

"The ship's owners refused to pay us for the entire time that we were detained and we have been trying to arrange for the money from our respective agents so that the sailors can return to their homes," Singh said.

The crew of the ship comprised 14 Indians, three Pakistanis, two Somalians, one Iraqi and one Filipino.