The crew of the m/v Rusen Mete hopes for repatriation

On July 2, two seafarers from the Turkish vessel Rusen Mete (IMO 8516835, flag of Sierra Leone), located in the Ukrainian port of Berdyansk, appealed to the ITF Inspectorate in Vladivostok. Despite the fact that the seafarers ' contracts were signed for six months, they have already been on board for about seven months. The crewmembers wanted to be repatriated from Ukraine after receiving arrears of wages and they refused to proceed to Turkey.

There are 22 people on board the vessel, owned by the Turkish company Royal-Mar Shipping & Ship Management: Georgians, Azerbaijanis, Turks, Hindus and Egyptians. There are no Russians on board.

Since the appeal came from the Ukrainian port, the ITF inspector Petr Osichanskiy contacted the local colleagues:

«The ITF inspector in Odessa, Natalya Efrimenko, confirmed that she has been dealing with the problem of this vessel and she is in touch with the seafarers and the company. In general, the crew change at the port is prohibited, with the exception of Ukrainian citizens. Until now, the seafarers could be signed off only upon the recommendation of doctors. However, with the support of embassies, they will try to organize the discharging and repatriation of crewmembers.

The Inspectorate is currently awaiting information from the agent and responses to requests addressed to the flag state and authorities. The trade union committee of Vladivostok, in turn, will monitor how the situation develops.