About 22 foreign nationals from Turkey, Georgia and Azarbaijan, who were working in merchant ship MV Mirach that sunk off the coast of Kanyakumari, are in detention in Nagercoil.
The crew abandoned the ship that hit a rock and sank on April 1. Police have seized the passports and travel documents of the sailors. Carrying iron ore, the vessel was sailing to Karachi from Vishakapatinam port. Maritime representatives say that detaining the sailors and confiscating their passports and other documents for 39 days without a court order is illegal.
Manoj Joy, national coordinator of Sailors Helpline, said: "DG Shipping should not have allowed authorities to trouble poor sailors when there are mechanisms to investigate the issue," he said. K Sreekumar, a representative of the International Transport Workers Federation, said that this is a clear case of violation of international maritime laws and conventions.
"We as Indians should be embarrassed that this has happened here," he said. Kanyakumari district officials say that they have been waiting for an investigation report from DG Shipping. "It was gross negligence on the part of the cabin crew that caused the accident.
The vessel had a stock of several tonnes oil in its tank, which could have led to oil spillage and spoiled the coastline," said Rajendra Ratnoo, district collector. "We have received the DG Shipping report on Friday and further action will be taken soon," he said. Oktay Cullu, a Turkish national and captain of the vessel, said that some of the sailors are mentally depressed.
"Our agent is arranging for food. But all my crew members are highly depressed. They are not taking food as they are stressed and unable to cope with the situation. One of them got violent yesterday and had to be admitted in a local hospital for depression," he said.
"As the police have taken our passports and seamen cards, we cannot return to our native countries," he told TOI. The crew members abandoned the vessel on 4th April 2011 after the accident and reached the shore.