Indonesian maritime police keep close watch on crew including 13 Indians on board detained vessel

The crew of the stranded MT Strovolos

In a bid to keep a close watch on the movement of 19 crew members including 13 Indians onboard a Bahamas-flagged oil tanker, the Indonesian Maritime police have been deployed on the vessel. The on board crew members said at least five armed men have been deployed at a time in one shift, which will rotate, on the ship in Batam, Indonesia. The seafarers are also being interrogated ashore in shifts.

The disturbing development has scared the crew members. The Indian seafarers have sent a letter to the general secretary of Forward Seamen's Union of India Manoj Yadav, who has been fighting to bring the stranded Indian crew members back home.

‘Violation of human rights'

"The incident, which is international as well as diplomatic in nature, has violated the human rights. They have restricted the movement of crew members onboard MT Strovolos which has been seized at Batam. False charges are being put on crews and it could transpire into life imprisonment if not acted upon by diplomatic channel," reads the letter, which is in possession of mid-day.

Forward Seamen's Union of India has been fighting to get the crew back to India

Citing their innocence, the crew members further said in the letter that the ‘vessel has only followed the commercial operator's instruction from time to time and also has no means to check if the orders are correct or legal. The master and the company are to follow all orders of her charterers.'

"We are in grave danger as we have been onboard for past one year and not been given even due medical attention," said an Indian crew member.

Relatives worried

mid-day spoke to a few relatives of the Indian seafarers detained illegally onboard Strovolos.

"My brother, hired by World Tankers, left home in August last year to work onboard oil tanker MT Strovolos. All the crew members on the vessel are the victims of a commercial dispute between oil producer Kris Energy and the Cambodian government. The crew members followed what was told to them by Kris Energy.," said the brother of an Indian crew member.

Another relative of the stranded seafarer said, "I have learnt from the international articles that Kris Energy has gone bankrupt and here the
problem started."

The elderly parents of another crew member are unable to understand what has happened. "I had been speaking to him on phone but now he says policemen have been keeping a close watch on them and telling them not to use the phone…I am worried," said the worried mother, of another crew member.

"The seafarers said if something goes wrong it may lead to all of them getting life imprisonment. How can the government and authorities relax?" Yadav added. The DG Shipping Amitabh Kumar told mid-day, "Our Indian Embassy in Jakarta has been looking into the matter to resolve the issue. We hope to see them back home soon."

Official speak

The spokesperson of World Tankers told mid-day, "The government of Cambodia has never proved to the owners of the vessel that it owns the oil on board, and no agreement has been reached with KrisEnergy about payment of the money."

"It appears to the owners that the government of Cambodia may have failed to resolve matters with KrisEnergy and therefore is now adopting the deeply unpleasant and unethical tactic of trying to use the Request for Assistance to coerce the owners to accept their claims without proof or payment," added the spokesperson.