This archive report was first published on 11 July 2019.
Published on July 11, 2019, a distressing situation has unfolded in the high seas, where 15 Kenyan fishermen are being held hostage on a Somali fishing vessel.
According to Betty Makena, an officer with the East Africa International Transport Workers' Federation, the fishermen were hired by an unlicensed agent in Mombasa in April this year and are now working in deplorable conditions.
Ms. Makena revealed that the fishermen are being forced to work for long hours and those who resist are threatened with a gun. Many of them are injured and have not received medical care.
The fishermen claim that their employer, Somlink Fisheries Investment, had agreed to pay them Ksh26,000 ($260) monthly, but they have yet to receive any payment since they left Mombasa in April.
The payment is below the average as per the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) labour convention, which calls for an average of Ksh90,000 ($900) per month. Somalia being a conflict zone, a special allowance was needed.
The seafarers lobby has contacted the Kenyan government to rescue the group, and efforts are underway to ensure their safe return.
