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Lankan seamen left in the lurch in Panama Canal
A group of eight Sri Lankan seamen are stranded on a ship in the Panama Canal over the past 10 months after the owner opted to abandon the vessel citing losses, maritime officials said yesterday. The all Sri Lankan crew boarded the Nicaraguan-flagged Sonikalas through local recruiting agents and boarded the vessel from a port in Panama and have since been holed up inside the ship that is currently in anchorage away from the harbour, International Transport workers Federation (ITF) Inspector Ranjan Perera told the Sunday Times.
Investigations have found out that three different recruiting agents had enlisted the Lankan crew and each seafarer was charged a fee of Rs. 300,000, he said. The work contracts were also worked out in a clandestine manner and were not endorsed by the Shipping Corporation which should have been the standard procedure, Mr. Perera added.
He further said that the crew had not received their wages ever since boarding the vessel and that the Sri Lankan owner currently domiciled in Rome was not maintaining contact, an apparent indication that he had abandoned the vessel and crew. The crew is currently surviving on hand outs provided by a local bunkering firm in Panama and they have informed the ITF that they seek to return home with or without wages, Mr. Perera said.
He said the ship, which is some 50 years old is worth only US$ 40,000 and will not be sufficient to settle the wages due to the crew. The total wages due to the crew is double that sum, he explained. “We are currently trying to persuade the agents to provide the funds for the airfare. Each ticket will cost an estimated Rs. 3,000,000 and the relatives of the men cannot afford such a sum.
The agents for their part have shown no indication of helping out despite having charged the seafarers Rs. 300,000 each for the trip,” he added. “Matters have also been further complicated because the seafarers cannot use a closer route through a European destination since they do not have landing visas.
“Therefore they will have to come through the Far East which is a longer route that will cost more,” Mr. Perera said. Director/General Merchant Shipping Ajith Seneviratne said that there is very little that can be done from this end since the seamen had boarded the ship illegally ignoring standard procedures.
“However the matter will be probed and attempts will be made to track down the recruiting agents,” he added.
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