Press Release
9th July 2019
London. UK. One of the three remaining seafarers onboard the UAE flagged MV Tamim Aldar, owned by Dubai-based Eliteway Marine Services Ltd, has provided Human Rights at Sea with an exclusive updated personal testimony to the continuing issue of their abandonment by Eliteway now seven nautical miles inside of UAE territorial waters.
The case has been widely covered since it was raised into public awareness by the charity through its December 2018 detailed case study and various coverage from the likes of Gulf News, The Maritime Executive, The Times of India and the Khaleej Times.
Today, Vikas Mishra explained that despite being previously towed in close to the shore on 1 July 2019, and with assurances that their plight and abandonment would soon come to an end with payment of outstanding wages, the situation for the remaining two Indian and two Eritrean crew has not changed. Meantime, the Mission to Seafarers continues to attend to the welfare concerns of the crew.
Despite remaining positive, Vikas commented that:
” In the evening we are making Maggi, and daytime we are making rice and adding salt and eating, so last 10 days we are eating the same provisions.”
“The problem is our generator is not operational, mostly..in the day we are using for one hour, so in one hour very difficult to charge even mobile…night time also we have to use mobile as a torchlight..”
Ends.
Important Note to Readers
Human Rights at Sea continues to publish educational materials, publications, investigative case studies of individual and family testimony highlighting unacceptable conditions onboard vessels of all tonnages, as well as throughout the associated maritime supply chain, in order to establish greater public awareness of the issues raised without compromising our editorial freedom.
The charity does not subscribe to any imposed protocols and agreements with other entities effectively limiting the ability to report freely and objectively disclose facts, including the reality of unacceptable labour, and wider human rights abuses at sea.
The charity will therefore continue to take a legal and moral stand whenever and wherever it can to fairly advocate for the betterment of human rights, working conditions, and the reduction in abuse at sea. This includes pressing issues such as the criminalisation of seafarers and humanitarian rescuers, abuses towards migrants, impunity of flag States in transparently reacting to and addressing reported abuse, the expansion of the positive contributory role of civil society organisations in the maritime sector, and the provision of greater awareness of effective remedies when abuse occurs.
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