Crew Stranded In Manila Bay For 5 Months Now Without Pay, Running Out Of Food And Water

MV Celanova (IMO 9268394) had been abandoned by its owner with no rudder and dwindling food supplies after Filipino authorities detained the ship in February.

MV Celanova is a Spanish flagged LPG tanker owned by GLOBAL GAS SA, Madrid, Spain. Apparently, the crew onboard has now been left without fresh water, medicine, and basic supplies, as well as their wages for 5 months now.

The International Transport Workers Federation(ITF) has been requesting Filipino authorities to allow the ship into port for the last 1 month to facilitate the ship’s aid from the flag state as well as the vessel insurers, the American Club.

“The crew has been working onboard without getting paid and waiting for a solution for almost nine months now,” said Baz, who has been handling the case of MV Celanova since 21st February.

Spanish Maritime Administration said that they have a huge priority on getting crew members repatriated and working with all stakeholders, which also includes the ITF.

The Spanish and Cuban crew of 15 remain stranded on the ship, with some of them even sleeping on the bridge of the ship due to no air-conditioning and eating things ‘they never thought they’d eat’.

Even though lockdown measures have been lifted to an extent in the Philippines, there’s no peace for the crew members. The ship had suffered multiple damages to the engine, as well as rudder damage.

The owner of MV Celanova went bankrupt and resorted to measures to sell the ship for paying four months’ worth of back wages of the crewmembers. Abanca, the Spanish mortgage bank, didn’t allow it.

Reference: manilatimes.net