Alone and without electricity: the story of the sailor who spent four years trapped on a ship

The fate of Mohammed Aisha joined the MV Aman on May 5, 2017. That year, Egyptian justice appointed him legal guardian of this drifting boat. This meant no be able to leave the freighter more than to fetch water or food from the shore.

Four years after living completely alone There, the authorities decided to release him from his responsibilities and allow him to return to his country, Syria. Your SMS, sent from the plane onto the runway at Cairo airport, it was brief.

“I feel relief. Joy.”

And then a voicemail message arrived.

“How do I feel? As if he was finally out of prison. Finally, I will find my family. I will see you again “.

This airplane seat marks the end of an ordeal that had negative consequences on his physical and mental health. And it is that he was condemned to live without electricity, without sanitation without any business. Her nightmare began in July 2017, when the MV Aman was arrested in the Egyptian port of Adabiya.

The freighter was detained because it had outdated safety equipment and classification certificates. This should have been a fairly easy problem to resolve, But the ship’s Lebanese contractors did not pay for the fuel, and the owners of the MV Aman in Bahrain began to experience financial difficulties.

With the ship’s Egyptian captain ashore, a local court declared Mohammed, the ship’s commander-in-chief, the legal guardian of MV Aman. Mohammed, who was born in the Syrian Mediterranean port of Tartus, said that They did not explain what this order meant.

He only discovered it months later, when the other members of the ship’s crew began to leave. For four years, Mohammed saw life and death pass. He watched the ships move in and out of the nearby Suez Canal.

During the recent blockade of this sea route caused by the gigantic ship Ever Given, had dozens of ships waiting for the traffic jam to clear. same seen the boat his brother works on more than once. They spoke on the phone, but they were too far away to even say hello.

In August 2018, she learned that her mother, the teacher responsible for her excellent English, had passed away. It was the worst time of all, says Mohammed. “I seriously considered killing myself”, he pointed.

It was in August 2019. With the exception of the occasional visit from a guard, Mohammed was alone and stuck on a boat with no diesel and therefore no electricity. He was legally obliged to stay on board and received no salary.

He was demoralized and felt worse and worse. Today it is said that the ship was like a grave at night. “You can’t see anything. You don’t hear anything. It is as if you were in a coffin ”.

In March 2020, a storm moved the Aman out of its mooring. The vessel deviated 8 km and eventually ran aground a few hundred meters from shore. It was terrifying at the time, but Muhammad thought it was an act of God.

Now I could swim to the shore every few days buy food and charge your phone. As incredible as Mohammed’s story is, his experience is not unique. In fact, the abandonment of sailors is increasing.

Currently there 250 active cases of abandonment of ships and sailors in the world according to the International Labor Organization. Aman owners, Tylos Shipping and Marine Services, told the BBC who had tried to help Mohammed but who their hands were tied.

“I cannot force a judge to withdraw the order,” said a representative who added: “And even though we’ve tried, I can’t find a single person on this planet to replace him.”

Mohammed, they said, should never have signed the order. Mohamed Arrachedi, of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, which dealt with Mohammed’s case in December, said that It should be time for everyone in the shipping industry to think.

“The case of Mohammed must serve to open a serious debate to avoid these abuses “, He said. The debate, he explained, must involve shipowners, port and maritime authorities and flag states (the flag which indicates in which country the vessel is registered).

“This drama and suffering for Mohammed Aisha could have been avoided if the owners and the parties involved had assumed their responsibilities and organized his repatriation earlier.”. For his part, Mohammed said he felt trapped in a situation he had not created, cornered by Egyptian law and ignored by shipowners.

He said months went by without communication, leaving him disappointed and isolated. All of this would make anyone think about the possibility of go back to work on a boat. But it’s decided.

He noted that he was good at his job and wanted nothing more than to pick up where he left off. Of course, this will be after spending time with your family.

BBC Mundo