Authorities in the UK are moving ahead with plans to put up for sale the GOL Offshore-owned Malaviya Twenty vessel that was arrested last year in a port in eastern England over non-payment of workers’ salaries.

Malaviya Twenty docked at Great Yarmout is one of two GOL supply vessel that were detained in June following allegations that the Indian oilfield services provider failed to pay its workers for several months, provided them with limited supplies and had irregularities with both employees’ contracts and their medical certificates.

Sister ship Malaviya Seven was detained off Aberdeen. Both units were officially “arrested” at the end of last year by UK authorities on behalf of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).

“We almost never go this far in the UK,” ITF inspector Paul Keenan told Upstream. “This is a last resort to force the hand of a company”.

Six months after initial talks started, Mumbai-based GOL continues to come up short of cash. The company’s sole response to date, according to ITF, has been through its legal representative in the UK, law firm Swinmoore, which requested in December on behalf of GOL “two more months to pay up”.

ITF, however, said it now plans to present its case in front of the high court in London later this week, looking to obtain legal authorisation to sell Malaviya Twenty aiming to then pay the 12-member crew on board and the 15-members crew on board Malaviya Seven - all Indian nationals.

Keenan said workers on board the Malaviya Twenty have only been paid their wages until the end of August, while members on board the Malaviya Seven have not received wages since July.

Food, water and fuel supplies are provided on a monthly basis, with never more than a few weeks’ worth of stock coming in.

The crews continue to do their everyday work, including daily safety checks. “Everything short of commercial work,” according to the inspector.

The workers, aged between 25 and 60, on both ships have refused to talk about their situation, saying only that they are all “mentally tired” and “stressed”.

According to Keenan, some of the crew on Malaviya Twenty has left, relinquishing pay, as they felt the situation would not be resolved. He said the latest seafarer to leave paid his own way back to India in early December.

Despite Upstream’s repeated attempt to contact GOL, formerly known as Great Offshore, the company has not been available for comment.

Online

Sale of ‘arrested’ Malaviya Twenty anticipated