“Partner DV” sends Russians to work on the problem-riddled vessel

The crewing agency "Partner DV" (Vladivostok-based) sends Russian seafarers to work on the obviously problem-riddled MV Miriam B (IMO 9356426) — there is a severe shortage of pure water and food on board the tanker, and wages have not been paid since last year. It is known, the last time the crew received their money was in October 2023; since then, debts to the seafarers have been accumulating, and the chances to get them are becoming less and less.

Labor Inspector of the Seafarers' Union of Russia Olga Ananyina told the tanker has been staying in Burgas (Bulgaria) for more than a year. One of the crew members approached her with a request to assist him in recovering wage debt for several months.

This January, three crew members signed off from the vessel without salary. By the way, their contracts expired in October. As for the rest crew, three seafarers have been on board from last August, their contracts have long expired ; two seafarers have stayed on board since September, and they are without contracts also; one seafarer joined the tanker last December, three others joined the vessel in January, their contracts are valid.

The previous Flag State Administration of the vessel - Sierra Leone - confirmed there have been problems with paying wages to Russian seafarers. 

According to the latest information received directly from one of the crew members, representatives of the crewing agency insist that seafarers whose contracts have expired or are coming to the end agree to be repatriated at the company's expense and without wages. Otherwise, they status will be changed to “passengers”, as the replacement crew are coming, and then they will be signed off from the vessel at their own expenses. They promise to pay the salary later, but they don’t give any deadlines.

Thus, “Partner DV” continues to recruit Russians to work on the problem-riddled vessel, without notifying them of the real state of affairs, as well as the fact that Miriam B has been included into the database of the International Labor Organization (ILO) as abandoned since May 1, 2022.

The Seafarers' Union of Russia advices to verify any information relating to future job before joining the vessel, so as not to end up on a vessel like Miriam B. You can do it, including through seeking for advice from SUR.

Photo - Alkilator/vesselfinder.com