- Turkish police arrested shipping magnate Mübariz Mansimov Gurbanoğlu at his Istanbul home one Sunday last March.
- His legal woes set off a chain of events that have decimated Palmali Shipping, his once-flourishing maritime empire.
- Now a dozen of its ships sit abandoned in ports around the Mediterranean with nearly 150 mariners stuck on board, many without adequate food and water.
A recent news article published in the Bloomberg Quint reveals that a tycoon’s downfall pushes trapped seafarers to hunger strike.
Workers on hunger strike
Workers on at least two Palmali ships have gone on hunger strike to protest the treatment they say they’ve endured.
For a crew marooned in Beirut, the dramatic measure appears to have worked. After a nine-day strike, they were put on flights home Wednesday and offered $114,000 to cover some of their lost wages — less than 40% of what they’re owed. Some hadn’t been paid in 15 months.
“I just want to get home,” said Samig Nabiyev, the 44-year-old captain.
He and his shipmates agreed to the terms offered by the so-called protection and indemnity club, a mutual insurance association funded by shipowners that is responsible for workers if companies can’t pay.
No response from the shipping company
Palmali representatives didn’t respond to Bloomberg emails and calls about the abandoned ships and crew.
The company has also declined to engage with the ITF, the union said.
The organization has provided humanitarian aid to the stranded seafarers and has been trying to negotiate their release with the company, the port authorities and officials in Malta, where the vessels are registered.
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Source : Bloomberg Quint
