The National Union of Seafarers of Peninsula Malaysia (NUSPM) highlights the desperate condition of 12 Vietnamese seamen stuck on their Malaysian vessel. Since mid-March the drug tanker Viet Tin 01 has been abandoning its owners leaving the crew without their pay or supplies.

The crew also used a messaging app that updated the NUSPM to their dire condition. On June 23, the union and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency boarded the vessel for inspection conditions and provided emergency supplies, including rice and dry food, for the crew. He discovered during the visit that the vessel was abandoned by its owner, and that the crew had no fuel or power onboard.

NUSPM is seeking to reach out to the registered owner of the vessel while they are also calling on the Vietnamese government to intervene and repatriate its residents.

As a Maritime Labour Convention signatory, the union says Vietnam has an duty to act to ensure crew members' well-being. In light of the ongoing global public health issue, the NUSPM says the crew members will collect their back pay due to the challenges they will have in seeking future jobs in the new climate.

Furthermore, since the crew had not been paid, they didn't even have the money to hire a boat to carry them to shore.

Maritime Business World