After 18 months stranded on a cargo vessel miles off the coast of the United Arab Emirates... Captain Ayyappan Swaminathan’s ordeal is finally over... the captain and crew were abandoned by the vessel owner, Elite Way Marine Services, unable to leave the ship fearing the loss of their claim to thousands of dollars in unpaid wages... Ayyappan... said he had now been paid 80% of the $84,000 (£66,000) salary owed to him... Rajib Ali, a cook from India, and Ibrahim Adam Iazim, chief officer from Sudan, were also repatriated. Other members of the crew, who accepted 40-60% of their owed salaries, left the ship in April...

There were days when a lack of fuel left the vessel in darkness in the busy shipping lane, endangering the crew and other ships... 36 sailors in at least seven vessels were abandoned by Elite Way Marine Services, according to the Federal Transport Authority (FTA) in the UAE. The case was first highlighted by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF)... In February, Mission to Seafarers and the FTA took legal action against the vessel’s owner over the unpaid salaries. The first ship was arrested under maritime law in April, followed by other vessels, including the Azraqmoiah, which was sold to pay the seafarers’ salaries. The FTA has banned the company from operating in UAE waters.