Four Pakistani sailors stranded onboard a Kuwaiti cargo ship near the port of Suez will be returning home on January 5, a private news channel reported Tuesday, citing sources.
The Pakistani Embassy has completed preparations for repatriation of the four sailors, identified as Mohammed Umer Ghauri, Tanveer, Mohammed Tariq and Samiullah.
They will be returning home empty handed, as the Kuwaiti company has not cleared their dues pending for the last five months. Three out of the four sailors are said to be severely unwell.
A total of 17 Pakistani sailors were stranded onboard the MV AKKAZ which is anchored in the Suez Canal after the Egyptian government confiscated the vessel for non-payment of dues.
The MV AKKAZ owned by a Kuwaiti company and chartered by a Dutch firm had set sail from Abu Dhabi on August 11, 2016 bound for Port Said and Alexandria in Egypt and then onwards to the Netherlands.
However upon reaching the Suez waters in October the vessel was not allowed to enter due to mechanical failure and expiry of its technical license.
The stranded sailors according to the vessel’s Chief Officer Jameel Jangian are owed approximately Rs. 20 million by the shipping corporation in dues.
