This archive report was first published on 11 January 2020.
Published on January 11, 2020, a group of 10 Kenyan seafarers were left stranded in Mozambique for three months, with no pay and forced to beg for food and water from villagers.
The seafarers, who arrived in Mozambique on October 2019, were recruited by Spanfreight Ltd Mozambique, which promised them employment contracts. However, the agent who recruited them disappeared, leaving them with the ship owner, who engaged them in a cat-and-mouse game over the contracts.
According to the captain of the ill-fated ship, Frank Mbotela, their passports, continuous discharge certificates (CDCs), and record books were confiscated by Mozambican authorities after it emerged that they had overstayed. The seafarers were detained and fined Sh130,000 for overstaying in the country, which was paid by the International Transport Federation (ITF).
"We sensed deceit when we arrived in Mozambique. He confiscated our passports and sneaked us through the airport and our passports were not stamped to indicate we had entered the country," Mbotela said.
The ship owner was supposed to employ them for one trip to deliver goods to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Pemba. However, the voyage was postponed several times due to lack of food and water for the crew.
"At one time, the ship ran out of fuel, it had no lighting and no provisions on board, including fresh water and food," Mbotela narrated.
The Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) reported the matter to the ship's 'flag state' the Republic of Comoros for intervention. The seafarers were eventually rescued by KMA and ITF, and among them was a 26-year-old cadet, Ali Said, who described the ordeal as an unforgettable experience.
The ship owner owes them an accrued salary of Sh7.416 million.
