Two stranded seamen on a ship due to be scrapped at the Alang shipyard were picked up by the Coast Guard off the Surat coast on Thursday after they abandoned ship and fled in a lifeboat. The two Turkish sailors Alphos Monec Jeki (21) and Salehi Odesh (32) were stranded on the Suwali islet near Hazira,when the Coast Guard authorities at Daman picked them up. They were later arrested by the Umra police. The two are among the four seamen who escaped from the Russian ship MV Mira. The two were in bad shape on Friday and were moved to the New Civil Hospital in Surat. According to Alphos,they were in bad shape aboard the ship,as there was inadequate food,water and other necessary supplies. Speaking in broken English,the two said they were tired of waiting since February and were also not paid for months. The Umra police have now started investigations into the matter. Meanwhile,the Bhavnagar police arrested two other sailors,Gasimove Matlab and Jafaria Asif,both Russian, off the Ghogha coast,on Thursday. MV Mira had arrived at Alang from Abu Dhabi in February for dismantling,and there were 16 crew members on boardthe vessel. The local ship agent,Natraj Ship Agency,told the police that the crew were not paid salary for a month after the vessel was seized by the port authorities following a legal dispute. The seamen had been confined for two months onboard the ship and made an attempt to escape. Incidentally,it was the agent who informed the Customs Department about the incident,which then alerted the police and Coast Guard in this regard. The Bhavnagar police said a creditor had moved the Gujarat High Court against the ship owner allegedly for overdue payment soon after the Customs Department had given beaching permission to the ship on February 20. Since then the ship had been docked in the same location. The police,however,said that they have taken the statement of the local agent and have initiated an inquiry.
