Sunday, August 1, 2010

Five sailors on a ship off the coast of Dubai have gone on hunger strike over claims they have not been paid, the captain of the vessel said.

Roman Vostrikov told 7DAYS the crew have not been paid in five months, forcing them to take the drastic action.

“The condition of some of the crew is not good. They are not strong enough to work,” said Vostrikov, who is from Russia. He said the owner of the
vessel owes the crew more than $230,000 (dhs700,000) in wage arrears.

On board the Magdalena are nine Russians, two Ukrainians, four Filipinos and one Estonian. But only five Russians are on hunger strike.

The Magdalena, which the captain said was owned by a German firm, has been anchored off Dubai since early September.

Vostrikov said the owner promised to pay the wages last month, but they have not heard from him since. “He never answers our calls. We don’t know what the problem is,” he added.

Alexander, another crew member, said he had been paid only once since he came on board in June.

“I could not even go home because of the non-payment of salary. My family is worried about the situation,” said Alexander, a Ukrainian who works as the second officer.

An agent for the ship in Dubai said that they have been supplying provisions to the crew as and when requested by the captain as per the agreement with the owner.

The London-based International Transport Workers’ Federation confirmed the hunger strike and said that they were assisting the sailors.

The ship’s owner could not be reached.

fareed.rahman@7days.ae