“Many thanks to trade union and ITF Inspectors”

The Seafarers' Union of Russia received a letter of gratitude from the Second Officer  and the Cook - former crew members of the M/V "Captain Nagdaliyev" (flag of Malta). In the letter, they express their gratitude for the assistance during their stay in Lebanon on a tanker abandoned by “Palmali”.

Since May 12, “Captain Nagdaliyev” has been under arrest in Beirut due  the shipowner's debts to the bunkering company. The crew members did not receive wages during the entire period of work. Moreover, at the time of the arrest of the tanker the Chief Officer and the Second Officer did not receive money for previous contracts, which they worked out back in 2019. In addition, there were regular difficulties  with  supplying food, fresh water ad fuel. In fact, the shipowner "Palmali" abandoned the ship and crew in a foreign country and  refused to communicate with the crew and the Union. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) supplied the crew with food and fresh water.

All this time, that is, for five months, two Russian crew members  remained on board in obscurity and uncertainty — the Second Officer  from Omsk and th Cook from Taganrog, and ten Azerbaijanians.

Just last week, through the intervention of the insurance company the four seafarers, including Russians, returned home. In addition the insurance company «AlfaStrakhovanie»  paid them 4 months' wages in accordance with the  Maritime Labor Convention requirements.

Upon returning home, the Russian seafarers sent a letter to SUR expressing their gratitude to the trade union,  ITF, and in particular to the Inspectors - Mohamed Arrachedi and Olga Ananyina: “Permanent consultations,  arranging and payment  lawyer assistance, as well as financial aid – the payment  for food, fresh water and fuel - are far away not a complete list of all the assistance they  provided us for those hard five months. It is hard to express in words how much we appreciate all they did  for us during those tough 5 months ! Thanks to such people, abandoned seafarers all over the world can hope to get help and support! "

Also, in they letter the seafarers thanked  the Russian Consul in Lebanon, Oleg Demirov for his efforts to arrange their repatriation, and the insurance company “AlfaStrakhovanie” - thanks to which  the seafarers did not return home to their families empty-handed.