The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) has announced that the eleven crew of the Panamanian flagged Agean Princess have finally been able to return home to India and Myanmar, after a dispute between their ship's operator and owner saw them held in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, for seventeen months.
However, the crew are still owed a total of USD 916,000 of unpaid wages.
ITF inspector, Mohamed Arrachedi, has been helping the crew since they were abandoned in June 2016: 'This has been a difficult case, and in the end we were helped to conclude it by UAE Federal Transport Authority [FTA].'
'The ITF and the FTA have been working closely to end abandonment in UAE waters, and these seafarers have seen the benefit of this. As the UAE moves towards fully complying with the Maritime Labour Convention all seafarers will enjoy the greater protection they deserve when working there. In this case we also had the cooperation of the flag state of the vessel – Panama – that helped to resolve the issue.'
