A top maritime trade union yesterday reached out to international agencies to seek the release of eight Sri Lankan seafarers being held by the Nigerian authorities on questionable charges.
The eight Sri Lankans are a part of a larger crew that included 16 Indians, one Philippine national and a Polish national, President of the National Union of Seafarers Sri Lanka (NUSS), Palitha Atukorale told the Sunday Observer.
He said the NUSS was working alongside the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITWF) and had sought the assistance of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Maritime Organisation in seeking the release of the detained seafarers.
The crew and the Marshal Islands flagged Norwegian owned cargo vessel – ‘Heroic Idun’ was taken in for questioning on the night of August 12, in international waters on the West Coast of Central Africa, Atukorale said. The ship owner was told that the crew had violated maritime laws and, therefore, they would have to be detained along with the vessel until investigations are completed, Atukorale said.
He said the ship owner had also been fined heavily on unexplained charges but despite all that the crew and the vessel continue to be detained.
The NUSS will shortly be meeting family members of the detained seafarers as the men are most likely to be detained for a considerable period.
The ITF, a trade union with a membership of some 50 million active members world-wide have also taken up the matter with the Indian, Philippine and Polish authorities in this regard, Atukorale said.
“At the end of the day it appears to be a case of state-run piracy” he said.