Concern grows over abandoned crew in Kenya

Global maritime charity Stella Maris has stepped in to support the crew of a fishing vessel abandoned in Mombasa port in Kenya, after being alerted to the situation by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF).

The charity said concern has been growing for the welfare of 16 crew members on the Kenyan-flagged fishing vessel, RA-Horakhty,Horakthy left abandoned in Mombasa port in Kenya since March 2021.

Stella Maris Mombasa port chaplain Margaret Masibo said: 'We were informed of the crew’s dire situation by the ITF inspector based here, so went to visit the vessel to assess the situation and see how best we could help. We invited the local Mission to Seafarers team to assist in our response.

'We had a long conversation with the captain of the ship who said he and his crew were distressed, frustrated, hungry and exhausted.'

The hungry and desperate seafarers onboard had run out of food, except for some old vegetables, after the vessel owners stopped providing them with supplies, said the charity.

'The crew also say that they are owed wages for the last eight months and are increasingly worried about their families back home who are struggling to survive because of the loss of income.

'The RA-Horakhty is currently crewed by Indonesians, Koreans, and Vietnamese. Initially, there were Kenyans and Tanzanians on board, but they have since been repatriated and been paid the salaries owed to them.'

Stella Maris has stepped in to provide emergency relief for the men, supplying a week's worth of groceries, including oil, meat and rice – donated by the office of the Archbishop of Mombasa, Bishop Martin Kivuva Musonde.

The seafarers are also in need of fresh water and diesel to run the ship's generator.

Stella Maris understands that the men all signed one-year contracts. The contracts of six Indonesian fishermen expired five months ago but they are still on board. The men are unable to leave the port area because their documents are no longer valid.

The charity said the case illustrates a wider problem of seafarer and fisher abandonment. According to the International Labour Organization’s Abandonment of Seafarers database, 57 ships have been reported abandoned since the start of this year.

Stella Maris said it was often the first responder in these cases, supporting the seafarers and fishers but also their families back home who have been without income for months.

'The seafarers on board the RA-Horakhty were extremely thankful for the support we provided them,' said Ms Masibo. 'They are however distressed, frustrated and uncertain of the future, and in need of accompaniment, counselling and assurance.'

The crew, led by the captain, has begun to seek legal redress, said Stella Maris.

'The situation is becoming increasingly hopeless, and no one knows how long a court case will take, but Stella Maris will keep looking out for the crew's wellbeing and monitoring the situation,' said Ms Masibo.