Stranded Indian sailors off UAE coast send out SOS as food rations run out
Indian sailors stranded on a decaying merchant ship abandoned off the UAE coast have sent out an SOS as their food supplies have run out. For the past 31 months, engineers Vikas Mishra, 34, and Arsu Lobo, 49, have [stayed aboard] MV Tamim Aldar in the fervent hope of getting their salaries, which are allegedly pending since March 2016... the seamen are on the brink of starvation as their supplies have exhausted...
The cargo vessel on which the men are stranded since September 2017, flies a UAE flag and is owned by Dubai-based Elite Way Marine Services which has been caught up in financial disputes involving its other vessels... “We are hoping to come up with a solution soon,” [said Abdul Mahalik, an accountant at the company]. The sailors fear they will lose their bargaining power if they leave the ship. "... Four crew members who left the ship last month got just half of their outstanding salaries" [said] Mishra who claims the company owes him $65,000 (Dh238,745) towards 26 months of unpaid salaries.