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Working at sea is not always smooth sailing. SeafarerHelp received an e-mail from a crew of Filipino, Georgian and Ukrainian seafarers – many of the crew had finished their contracts but their repatriation had not been arranged. The seafarers’ salaries were delayed so they were worried about their families back home. Nelson also reported that the allocation of drinking water on board was limited and the crew had been sailing in 50°C heat with no air conditioning and broken generators.
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The crew member communicating on the crew’s behalf, Nelson*, explained to one of our Filipino speakers that there were further problems on board. The crew had not been given their cash allowance on board and were unable to buy essentials like toothpaste or phone cards. They had reported the problem to the company’s operations manager without success.
With the crew’s permission, we contacted the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the flag state to resolve the issues on board. The authorities investigated the allegations with the vessel operators and Nelson later updated us that the families had received the pending salaries, much to the crew’s relief. A technician also visited the vessel to repair the broken equipment.
When the flag state confirmed that the crew would be repatriated at the next port, our team gave Nelson the good news.
A few days later, Nelson contacted SeafarerHelp to say that all crew members were now back home.
Throughout two months of contact with the crew, our team ensured the seafarers were kept updated and never felt alone.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, you can speak to someone by contacting our free, confidential, 24-hour helpline:
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