An all-Indian crew of the St. Kitts & Nevis-flagged offshore support vessel Star Apollo has not been paid their salaries since the start of their contracts, and the crew’s health is also becoming an issue, according to a leading seafarer trade union.
The inspectorate coordinator of the International Transport Workers Federation, Steve Trowsdale, said in a social media post that the 2012-built vessel is currently docked at Batamec Shipyard in Indonesia.
He added that the 15-strong crew has not been paid since the start of the contracts, lasting between four and eight months. In total, the crewmen are owed almost $80,000.
“The crew are extremely frustrated, and the stress of not being paid is taking a toll on their health,” Trowsdale stated.
ITF Inspector Mohammad Gulam Ansari, based in India, who is supporting the crew, said: “This is an Indian shipowner exploiting Indian seafarers, treating them like slaves. It’s yet another example of an owner refusing to take responsibility.”
A video and image of the crew shows them holding signs, or rather, cries for help. Some of them include “when we ask for [our] salary, the company is threatening to block our COC (certificate of competency) and INDoS numbers”, “we don’t have proper food on board”, and calls to the ITF and the flag-state to resolve the situation.
According to Equasis, the owner of the vessel is Vindhyawashini Offshore. The crew also used a sign to name not just the owner of the vessel but also the RPSL agent Avvic Ocean and the sourcing agent Great India Shipmanagement.
$80,000 in unpaid wages.
15 crew on the STAR APOLLO haven’t been paid since the start of their contracts – 4 and 8 months ago.
The shipowner has abandoned these seafarers. This is unacceptable. The ITF Inspectorate is supporting the crew and working to recover the wages. pic.twitter.com/4gS7noaAh7
