Ukranian seafarers. Courtesy ITF.
Earlier this month, the 16 crew members of the container ship Avonmoor were repatriated home to the Ukraine. In January 2018, the crew of the Bahrain flagged-vessel were abandoned in the Port of Casablanca, Morocco, leaving them without wages, provisions, fuel and first aid supplies. The vessel was in blackout whilst anchored in the mouth of the port, which caused significant security concerns for the crew.
The vessel is owned by Tylos Shipping and Marine services. The ITF have identified previous issues on the same vessel as well as others, with unpaid wages and failure to repatriate crew. The ITF is currently dealing with three cases of abandonment with the owner, including the Sanad, the Aman and the Jerna S. This previous abandonment case on Avonmoor, in Malta, was resolved last September.
The current situation was resolved thanks to the efforts of P&I, port authorities, the Ukrainian Embassy, the ITF and the Moroccan Workers’ Union. Wages totaling $107,000 were paid and the crew repatriated.