14 Indian sailors stranded in Bahrain since December return home

DUBAI: Fourteen Indian sailors stranded on board a Mongolian oil tanker off the coast of Bahrain due to legal reasons since December last year have finally left the Gulf nation, according to a media report today.

They were among the 16-member crew of Mongolian vessel MT Surya Kuber, which was banned from leaving Bahrain as its Singapore-based owner 7Seas Ship Management allegedly owed Asry and Kanoo Shipping more than USD 220,000.

The sailors, 14 from India and two from Myanmar, have allegedly not been paid salaries totalling around USD 118,000 since October last year, Gulf Daily News said.

The two crew members from Myanmar are due to leave Bahrain today and the Indians left for India yesterday.

Asry had initiated legal action against the shipping company and its Indian owners after which a Bahraini court in February ordered the seizure of the vessel until the debts were repaid, the paper said.

"It is good to see they are going back home after months. The Indian Embassy paid for the air tickets for the 14 sailors," said Stephen Thanapaul, who is also chaplain for the Mission to Seafarers in Bahrain.

Indian Embassy first secretary Ram Singh said it also raised money for plane tickets for the two Myanmar citizens through donations from the community.

"We wanted the ordeal for the crew to end and took all measures to ensure they leave the country. They have not received their pending salaries for months and the embassy will follow up their case," the report quoted Singh as saying.

Their vessel, previously named the Prathiba Koyna, was at the centre of a similar controversy in 2012 when 34 Indian sailors were stranded in Bahrain for five months before leaving the country without their salaries.