• Official says they are being held for Sh6 million overstay charges.
• Says crew boarded the vessel and were informed they could not yet sign their employment contracts. The ship never left port.
Diplomats have stepped in to assist 10 Kenyan seafarers abandoned in Mozambique by their employer since last August.
Mozambican immigration authorities demand payment of Sh6 million as overstay charges from the shipping agent.
The Seafarers Assistance Programme (SAP), the Kenyan embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe, and the Mozambican High Commissioner to Harare are exploring ways to bring the abandoned crew home.
The 10 flew to Mozambique to board a Comoros-flagged general cargo ship, the MV Nina. They were supposed to sail to Iran but have been stranded at the port of Pemba in Mozambique.
However, SAP says there is hope the diplomatic intervention will help in repatriating the crew.
“In my experience in conflict resolution, diplomacy depends on the analysis of the legal and political issues between countries. So I strongly believe there’s hope,” Andrew Mwangura of SAP said.
He said that on December 26, there had been hope that the crew would be granted permission to leave but the Mozambican immigration authorities demanded payment of overstay charges from the responsible shipping agent.
A few days later, diplomatic communications were initiated.
“They were expected to arrive home on December 27 but the flight tickets were cancelled until the ship agent pays a fine of $60,000 (Sh6 million) as overstay charges,” Mwangura said.
In the meantime, the 10-man crew remains aboard the vessel where Mwangura says that they are running out of fuel, freshwater and ship stores.
The official said the crew’s predicament began once they boarded the vessel and were informed they could not yet sign their employment contracts.
“When they arrived in Mozambique, they boarded the ship and were all set to sail. When they asked for the contracts they were told to wait. Days passed and nothing happened and every time they asked they were given the same response,” Mwangura had earlier told the Star.
It is alleged that the Mozambican shipowner fell sick and is hospitalised in South Africa.
The 10 Kenyan seafarers have been identified as Frank Mbotela, Mbaraka Nassor, Gabriel Okumu, Norman Khan, Okelo Ochola, Raphael Ochina, Mbarak Timami, Haad Mashuhuri, Joseph Mwanyambo and Kali Mwamose.
Abandonment of seafarers has been increasing for five years, Mwangura said.
Last year in February, seven seafarers were repatriated from South Africa with the aid of the Kenya Maritime Authority. They had been stranded for 11 months following a dispute with their employer.
According to the International Labour Organization, between 12 and 19 crew abandonment incidents are reported annually and 1,013 seafarers were involved over the last five years.
Reasons cited for abandonment include ships' detention by its creditors, detention by port authorities for violating safety standards and shipowners' financial problems.
Mwangura says maritime nations must adopt and enforce international standards.
“There is need for specific legislation and more effective cooperation between countries and ratification of the Geneva 1999 Convention on the arrest of ships. The legal procedures for arrest and sale of ships where crews’ salaries are factored in should be improved and simplified,” he said.
Edited by R.Wamochie