With nearly four years into their odyssey at sea, the five-member crew of oil tanker MT Iba is tantalisingly close to shore and yet still unable to set foot on dry land, says an article published in Reuters.
The Calm after the Storm
Bleary-eyed and wearing tattered clothes, the men are exhausted from an ordeal that has kept them from their families and aboard the 5,000-tonne vessel long after its owner abandoned it in the Gulf.
Pathetic Condition Of Seafarers
What started out as a regular seafaring job turned into what the men call a nightmare, when the tanker’s owner, Alco Shipping, fell into financial trouble and stopped paying their salaries 32 months ago.
The crew was left to fend for itself, relying on donations from charities they contacted for food and hygiene supplies.
Aground Ship
The tanker ran aground in Umm Al Quwain, one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, in late January, after rough seas severed both of its anchors and pushed it to shore.
