88 days, no power, charged 1 phone in 15 days to talk to kin: Crew stranded off Mumbai coast

Mumbai: Crews of three foreign-registered vessels told the Bombay High Court on Tuesday that they survived on "just 300ml drinking water per day for each of the 50 crews, no power supply since March 18, one-time food (dal-rice) prepared using woods and eating it before sunset, taking bath every four days with sea water and getting themselves cooled on the deck side. This had become a rule aboard the three arrested vessels which remained on anchorage since Feb 6 around 30 nautical miles (56 kms) off Mumbai shore."The crew members stepped onto Mumbai shores after nearly 88 days to appear before the court and expressed relief after securing a bail order.On Tuesday, the crew told the Bombay High Court that the ordeal had continued ever since they joined the vessels and that they had been deprived of their salaries since March, after joining in November 2025 in Dubai. "We kept our feet on land for the first time ever since we were arrested aboard. Today (Tuesday) we are released by the HC. I have to shell out money for the air ticket to reach my home as the company stopped communication ever since the ships was arrested. No salary since March. No agencies came forward for our help saying the company that hired us has violated the rules," said Stephen Dinesh, second engineer for MT Asphalt Star and a resident of Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu.Dinesh said he was on his way to Mumbai Airport to fly to Chennai after spending Rs 8,000 on his ticket following the Bombay High Court's order. He added that the experience had been traumatic despite his 17 years of sailing experience with various shipping companies, noting that his ordeal began after joining the ship in January.Another crew member, Jaspreet Singh (30), an electrical officer, said the company provided rations infrequently and the crew managed with whatever was available. "There was no light and diesel. So prepared food on wood between 4 pm and 4.30 pm and ate before sunset. At night all slept together as it was pitch dark at night with no electricity. We charged one mobile every 15 days using a battery kept in the pantry and used it to call our families every fortnight. After sailing for 20 months in three different ships this was the first bad experience. Still have to get paid for the work. Had shelled out Rs 12,000 for flight ticket to Punjab," said SinghThe vessels had remained under arrest at anchorage off the Mumbai coast after being intercepted by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Feb 5 and 6. According to the ICG, the operation dismantled a network involved in the illicit transfer of large volumes of oil and oil-based cargo originating from conflict-ridden regions. "The three suspect vessels were intercepted approximately 100 nautical miles (185 kms) west off Mumbai. Sustained rummaging of the vessels, corroboration of electronic data recovered onboard, verification of documents, and detailed interrogation of crew members enabled the ICG specialist boarding teams to establish the complete chain of events and confirm the criminal modus operandi," an ICG official had said in Feb.A Yellow Gate police officer said the case was registered in Feb and that the smuggling syndicate used a modus operandi in which cheap oil was transported by seagoing vessels and transferred mid-sea to motor tankers in international waters. The officer added that investigations revealed the syndicate comprised handlers operating across multiple countries, coordinating the sale and transfer of cargo between vessels at sea.
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