Seafarers on hunger strike, hospitalised in Kuwait
Summary
Date Reported: 21 Jan 2021
Location: Kuwait
Companies
Aswan Trading & Contracting - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 25
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Türkiye , Shipping, ship-building & ship-scrapping , Gender not reported ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 16 - India , Shipping, ship-building & ship-scrapping , Gender not reported ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Bangladesh , Shipping, ship-building & ship-scrapping , Gender not reported ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Azerbaijan , Shipping, ship-building & ship-scrapping , Gender not reported ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Shipping, ship-building & ship-scrapping , Gender not reported )Issues
Restricted mobility , Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Personal Health , Wage Theft , Freedom of MovementResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: None reported. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre contacted the owner, Aswan Trading and Contracting for response; they did not reply. On June 4, Iswan South Asia said that the crew of ULA is finally returning home after 28 months at the sea. However, the crew fight for their wages continues.
Source type: Trade magazine
Indian, Turkish, Azerbaijaniani and Bangladeshi seafarers are in the third week of a hunger strike in the port of Shuaiba, Kuwait.
The abandoned crew of the bulk carrier Ula (IMO number: 8102414) have been on hunger strike since January 7 in a desperate effort to get off the ship and recover more than $400,000 in wages owed to them.
Six of the crew of have already been hospitalised to stabilise their blood pressure and sugar levels, before being returned to the ship. The seafarers lives remain at risk if they continue to refuse food and water...
For the last 11 months the crew have been abandoned by MV Ula's Qatari ship owner, Aswan Trading and Contracting. Aswan has been blacklisted since 2017.
Job and income losses, and their unresolved abandonment case, have forced the seafarers to take a stand over their owed wages. They say their families cannot afford to have them walk away from the ship empty handed.