Authorities are looking into a complaint that a 14-member all Russian crew are currently virtual prisoners aboard a Russian research vessel that has remained in limbo at the Colombo Port for the past 18 months, a senior official said yesterday. “The matter has already been raised by the Russian Embassy in Colombo and steps are [...]

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Research vessel’s crew ‘harboured’ for 18 months

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Authorities are looking into a complaint that a 14-member all Russian crew are currently virtual prisoners aboard a Russian research vessel that has remained in limbo at the Colombo Port for the past 18 months, a senior official said yesterday.

“The matter has already been raised by the Russian Embassy in Colombo and steps are under way to resolve the issue at the very earliest,” Merchant Shipping Director General, Ajith Senivaratne said.

The crew onboard the vessel ‘Akademik Nikolay Strakhov’

Initial investigations revealed that the vessel ‘Akademik Nikolay Strakhov’ owned by the Geological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences is in the red of port dues, preventing the crew from leaving, he said.

He added that the matter was discussed at the Shipping Ministry on Friday and would be sorted out soon with the assistance of the local handling agent.

Meanwhile, in a related development, the Russian maritime authorities have also sought the assistance of the International Transport workers Federation (ITF) and the National Union of Seafarers of Sri Lanka (NUSS) to intervene on behalf the 14-member crew, whom they claim are virtual prisoners aboard the research vessel.

The Russian P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology has, in a letter, alleged to the ITF and the NUSS that the local handling agent has refused a crew change and shore permits for those onboard.

The letter further alleges that the crew have become unwilling hostages in the dispute between the ship owner and the agent, which is a violation of their basic human rights.

ITF Inspector (Sri Lanka) Ranjan Perera told the Sunday Times that he had several talks with all the stakeholders including the local agent, over the past several months, with little or no success.

“The crew that includes a woman, has been caught up in a payment dispute between the agent, the port authorities and the vessel owner, which should never have been the case”, Mr Perera said.

He added that the welfare of the crew was adequate, but what is urgently needed at the moment is a change of hands.

“These seafarers have been onboard for the past 18 months and they just want to return to their families back home. This what the ITF and the NUSS is also seeking,” he added.

“We have sent for a new crew and they are due in the country in a week or two,” said Raushan Hameed of Wilhelmsen Meridian Navigation Ltd, the local handling agent.

The research vessel limped into Colombo Port on October 20, 2013, for urgent technical repairs, and remained there since then.

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