23 September 2011, 23:00
Astrakhan sailors are starving in the port of Rostov-on-Don
The crew of the ship "Antlia" is suffering at the port of Rostov-on-Don because of problems of the ship-owner.
Since July 25 this year, the "Antlia" remains off the Alexander harbour of the Rostov port. Twelve crew members are onboard.
The vessel belongs to the Ukrainian company "East Shipping"; its home port is Taganrog; the crew members are from Astrakhan. The ship went from Astrakhan to Turkey with a cargo of wheat on the order of some Austrian company. In the Rostov port the ship failed to pass the inspection of the Maritime Register. As it turned out, the "East Shipping" had failed to pay for the register, repairs and supplies of the ship, the "Rostov News Agency" reports.
The respective services have stopped to bring food to the ship and take away the wastes.
"I fed the crew for my own money; then, the owner of the cargo sent us some money on two occasions. Now we eat 'pasture'; water is near its end; we have some food for a couple of days left," the website of the "DonTR" TV Company quotes the ship's captain Alexander Borisevich.
The wage debt to the crew has reached 2 million roubles. On August 25, the crew went on strike; however, it resulted in no changes.
Lawyers of the Russian Trade Union of Seamen (RTUS) initiate lawsuits aiming to collect wages through the court. The ship is under arrest, the website of the RTUS reports.
So far, there are no comments from the "East Shipping" - the ship-owner.
