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Bhopal: Nineteen Indians in a crew
of 24 of M. T. Voyager-1, a vessel oil tanker, carrying a cargo of
40,000 tonnes diesel from Singapore to Karachi Port in Pakistan is
stranded in the international waters off Malaysia’s Kalange Port
for about a week due two big fires in engine room that has burnt
down main engine turbine completely with other damages in the
ship.
Reports reaching here said that among the Indian crew is Bhopal’s
29-year-old Danish Haseeb, 4th Engineer, along with nationals from
four other countries. Apart from India the other crew members are
Filipino (01), Pakistan (01), Russian (01), and Egyptian (02).
Haseeb’s mother Mrs. Laeequa
Haseeb and Chief Engineer M. A. Imtiaz on receiving SOS
message from their ward have shot off a letter to the president of
ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) headquartered at
London, an organization which overlooks the interests of the
members in the transport industry, for help. They have requested
the ITF to intervene to save the life of their ward along with
other crew members of the ship who are in a state of delirium
following the breakdown of the ship in the sea. All communication
channels of the ship have been snapped, it is learnt.
The crew members working round the
clock to overcome all problems while they sailed from Singapore a
week back after loading the cargo at the speed of just two
nautical miles per hour when the normal speed should have been
18-20 nautical miles per hour. With no success in fixing the
problem and get the ship going at normal speed all the officers
and other crew members have given in writing to the Master of the
ship to get them signed off at the earliest as the ship is not at
all seaworthy and safe for sailing. It is also causing oil
pollution in the sea.
However, Dubai-based owners and
officials of the Oyscer Shipping Company to which the ship belongs
are insisting to continue sailing at any cost till it reaches
Dubai for necessary repairs. The ship owner of M. T. Voyager-1 is
an Iranian and is registered and flagged in Barbados, West Indies.
The ship has I.M.O. No. 910506 while Call Sign is 8PAA. The Indian
local agent is Mehdi Shipping Company based at Lokhandwala,
Andheri West, Mumbai. The Director is Ali Mehdi.
It may be mentioned here that Capt.
Munnalal of India who was Master of the ship signed off at
Singapore a month back on February 10 last citing the reason that
the ship is in bad shape and not safe for sailing at all.
Thereafter, the company replaced him with a Filipino as Master of
the ship.
Talking to this Correspondent on
phone from Mumbai Capt. Munnalal said: “I signed off on February
10 from the ship at Singapore after fire broke down in the engine
room causing major damages. The repeated requests to the owners to
get the ship repaired had no bearing as the company continue say
to sail on to the next port and bring it back to Dubai for
necessary actions”.
He said the company is not bothered
as in case of any eventuality the ship being insured the owners
would get hefty compensation at the cost of crew members. “The
ship is very dangerous for the crew and as such I left it for my
own safety and that of my family”, he moaned.
(pervezbari@eth.net)
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