• Four seafarers recount their ordeal after being unpaid and left in the dark for ages
• State says they dealt with unlicensed recruiter but eventually brought them home
Image: HANDOUT
They left Kenya with high hopes of transforming their lives.
However, those hopes were dashed when they found themselves stranded in a foreign country for months, eventually needing to be repatriated back home.
In March last year, four Kenyan seafarers, Abdulrahman Idd, Nuru Mwamba, Mwalimu Omar and Tela Juma were recruited by TG Blue Treasure Seafood Inc to work on board the Somali-flagged fishing vessel FV Saharla, IMO No. 7414212.
They were to board the vessel at the Port of Duqm in the Kingdom of Oman.
Their monthly salaries varied between USD300 (Sh38,700) and USD500 (Sh64,000).
In the group, Idd is the youngest at only 26 years and has been a seafarer for just two years, and Mwamba is 35, with also some years as a seafarer.
Omar, now 58, has spent more than 30 years at sea, while 52-year-old Juma has worked in the industry for about 15 years.
They had expected the employment would change their lives.
Mwamba said that was never the case. “We left for Oman and found the vessel had been taken to a dry dock for repairs. We boarded it, hoping we would be getting into the sea soon.”
After a month, however, it became apparent that the salaries and food rationing would become a challenge.
“Every month, we had to engage the shipowner in push-and-pull before we got our pay, and by the third month, things became more difficult,” he said.
As time moved on, the food supplies and other essentials in the vessel went down.
“We had to ask for food from the Harbour Master at the Port of Port of Daqm,” Mwamba said.
In the fourth month, the shipowner, who is said to be of Somalia origin but a citizen of the United States, abandoned the vessel.
The shipowner also failed to pay port and repair charges running into millions of shillings, they said.
“We engaged the ship agent, but he informed us they cannot pay us our salaries because they had failed to agree with the shipowner,” Mwamba said.
The ship agent said he could assist them with Visa application, but they had to look for their air transport back home.
“I decided to call the Kenyan Embassy in Oman. We talked through WhatsApp calls, but the Embassy also informed us there was no money for transport back home,” he said.
They also tried seeking help and assistance from the International Transport Workers’ Federation but it was all in vain.
The team then decided to raise the alarm through their Seafarers’ WhatsApp group to get assistance after it became apparent that they could not be helped.
“We had a lot of challenges in Oman, but the biggest challenge was our salaries, which have now accrued to eight months without pay,” Mwalimu said.
Juma and Idd also corroborated the assertions by their colleagues Mwalimu and Mwamba.
On July 19, the Kenya government said they had received a report from the Seafarers Union of Kenya about four Kenyan Seafarers abandoned in the Kingdom of Oman.
Maritime PS Geofrey Kaituko said he worked with stakeholders including his colleagues in Foreign Affairs Dr Korir Singoei and Diaspora Affairs Roseline Njogu to ensure the four Kenyans were repatriated back home.
On July 25, Kaituko announced that the four had arrived back home safely.
“Having ratified the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006, the government of Kenya has a responsibility of protecting all seafarers and more specifically, providing maximum protection to its own seafarers,” he said.
Kaituko said they are working with their Somali counterparts towards ensuring that the shipowner of the fishing vessel is held accountable for his conduct.
On Wednesday, the four seafarers arrived at the new Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) Bahari Towers in Mombasa to follow up on their salaries that are being held abroad.
Recently rescued and brought back home, the four have come to KMA to try and push for their eight-month salary, amounting to Sh1.5 million.
KMA director general Eng Martin Dzombo said it was noted that the seafarers were not engaged through the recruitment and placement services licensed by KMA.
However, in line with KMA’s mandate to ensure the welfare of seafarers, they will work with them to ensure that their money is paid.
At KMA, the seafarers were engaged in consultative meetings on how they can file their wage claims under the Maritime Lien.
“KMA will continue to work closely with key industry players in pursuing the payment of the pending wages of the Seafarers,” Dzombo said.
However, KMA urges the public to seek employment opportunities from the list of licensed recruitment and placement services for seafarers available on their website.
In an earlier interview, Atie Swaleh, the secretary general of Seafarer Union of Kenya, confirmed they were among the first to receive the distress call from the four seafarers in Oman.
SUK wrote to the Maritime Principal Secretary, Labour Principal Secretary and ITF to help these crew members be brought back home.
“We have a challenge that they are not our members, but we will still help them to come back,” Swaleh then said.
She said Kenya has at least 5,000 seafarers working aboard foreign vessels.
She decried that most seafarers are not members of SUK.
Andrew Mwangura, a veteran seafarer and a consultant maritime expert, said the primary obligation of the flag state, in cases of abandonment involving both crew members and the ship, is to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety and welfare of the crew.
Mwangura said the flag state is responsible for protecting the rights and welfare of the abandoned crew members.
“This may involve facilitating repatriation, ensuring access to medical care and addressing any immediate humanitarian needs,” he said.
“The shipowner is responsible for arranging and covering the costs associated with repatriating the crew members to their home countries.”
Mwagura said the shipowners must continue to pay the crew members their wages and any entitlements owed according to their employment contracts until they are safely repatriated or until alternative arrangements are made.
He said the shipowners should also maintain regular communications with the crew members, families and relevant authorities to provide updates on the situation and ensure that all necessary support is provided.
“The shipowner may also be liable for any damages suffered by the crew members as a result of the abandonment, and may need to provide compensation accordingly,” he said.
“The shipowner must adhere to international maritime labour conventions and regulations governing the treatment of seafarers, including those related to abandonment.”