zoomImage Courtesy: Apostleship of the Sea

Seafarers on board the chemical tanker, Sea Emperor that was held at Fawley Port, the UK, were found to be without warm clothing for days and their wages unpaid for three months, according to Catholic charity Apostleship of the Sea (AoS).

The Marshall Islands-flagged ship, built in 2008, was detained by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on January 28, after an inspection found various equipment deficiencies on board.

As disclosed, Peter Morgan, assistant port chaplain for Southern Ports from AoS, visited the ship to offer the crew assistance, after a seafarer contacted the International Transport Workers Federation.

“It was ‘pungent’ on board, to put it politely,” Peter said. “The crew were nervous around the marine superintendent and were reluctant to say anything at the time,” he added.

However, having been provided with his contact details, the crew texted him later to say they had not been paid their wages and that they had no warm clothing with them.

The following day, as the ship had gone out to anchorage, Peter, accompanied by a marine police unit, visited the ship at anchorage and delivered the supplies to the seafarers. As informed, the crew told him that they had finally been paid.

The ship has since left for Lagos, Nigeria, where it is scheduled to arrive on February 18, the AoS said.

Ship tracking data shows that the ship is currently underway using engine in the North Atlantic, off the East coast of Morocco.

The small clean tanker of 13,100 DWT is owned by Perosea Shipping from Greece, data from VesselsValue shows.