An Indian diplomat has said earlier this Tuesday that as many as 11 Indian sailors that were stranded off the coast of Sharjah in ships have been successfully repatriated. Vipul, the Indian Counsel General has confirmed this. All the sailors from the four ships that were stranded off the coast have abandoned their ship owners and have gone home.

Vipul told earlier that day, “We’ve handled two main cases in four abandoned ships over the last several weeks. One was a ship called Zoya 1, which was stuck off the coast of Sharjah for several weeks. Therein, we were helped by the coast guard and the Sharjah Port Authority. Six Indians on board that ship were repatriated yesterday (Monday) and day before yesterday.”

He also added to this statement that, “The ship was stuck because the company had not paid the port dues.”

Vipul also said that the consulate will help the other seafarers to get back to their homes safely and is currently working on other similar cases.

Vipul mentioned that, “The sailors were in bad shape. Health-wise, they were okay but they were off port limits so food and fuel was a problem and their salaries were not being paid. The conditions on board were bad but I am happy that they are home now. We are continuously doing this and [extending help to abandoned seafarers] and we’ve made great progress with the FTA. There are a few ships that are still in bad condition but we are working on the case actively with the help of FTA and port authorities”