It is seven months since Vinay Kumar and his crew left the UAE after washing ashore in Umm Al Quwain on board a shipping tanker abandoned at sea for almost three years.
When the Merchant Tanker Iba split from its anchorage in rough seas and drifted on to a public beach in January, it gave the world a rare insight into the challenges of a life at sea.
The five men spent 43 months at sea — and 32 months without pay — after the tanker's owner, Alco Shipping Services, fell into a financial crisis. Maritime law states no vessel can be left unattended at sea and so the men stayed aboard, knowing that if they left they would probably not see the $170,000 collectively owed to them.
The tanker broke from its anchor and became grounded after strong winds pushed it to the shallow waters of Umm Al Quwain’s public beach early one morning in January, 2021.
Mr Kumar, 31, and his four colleagues, two from India and two others from Pakistan and Myanmar, remained on the ship in limbo for months while their plea for unpaid wages was resolved in a Dubai Court.
Now back home, Mr Kumar, said it has been difficult readjusting to family life.
He was reunited with his wife Pushpa and two children, Mukund, 3, and Navya, 7, in the small village of Ghnehra in Himachal Pradesh, a northern Indian state in the Himalayas.
“It was very strange coming home,” said Mr Kumar, who spoke to The National from India.
“I had to quarantine for 15 days and eventually got to see my family.
“Life was very different, there were a lot of changes.
“After we came home, the struggle was with no work because of the pandemic.”
“I live in a beautiful mountain area, but I found it very difficult to climb or walk anywhere as I had lost so much fitness by being on the ship for so long.
“It took at least three months to regain my fitness, and I have lost some weight — almost 10kg.
“Now I play cricket again every day keeping wicket and feel fit. Before I could do nothing, not even run.”
Abandoned at sea
The crew had been abandoned since 2017 by their employer, Alco Shipping, after the company hit financial difficulties.
Life on board the giant rusting tanker with limited rations, clean water and electricity was only matched in suffering by the families left behind with minimal contact with their loved ones.
The wife of second engineer, Riasect Ali, 52, struggled to pay for her cancer care without her husband’s salary.
And the ship’s cook Monchand Sheikh, 26, was forced to call off his wedding and abandon plans to build his parents a house.
Meanwhile, chief engineer Nay Win, 53, has since returned to Myanmar in the grip of a military coup.
Ironically, after more than three years at sea he was forced to quarantine in an old cruise ship transformed into a floating hotel in Yangon before being allowed home.
A long term health condition partly caused by his poor diet on board the Iba resulted in a lengthy hospital stay and an operation to remove 30 gall stones fro his abdomen.
The procedure cost around $10,000, a large chunk of the outstanding salary he was finally repaid by the ship's owners once the Iba was sold.
Now in India with his young family, Mr Kumar has not ruled out a return to sea.
“I am waiting for confirmation for a cruise ship job, so until then I am working on my home and the fields,” he said.
“My children have already joined school and I have paid for one stage of their education.
“I will be more wary of the company I join after what happened.
“I don’t want to take one per cent risk with a new job. I can’t put my family through this all again.”
In 2021, the shipping industry hit the headlines like never before.
From the giant Ever Given container ship stuck in the Suez Canal, disrupting global trade, to the abandoned Mt Iba and soaring shipping costs, the industry has been in the spotlight.
Those inside the industry hope 2022 will be the year the world takes note of those at the centre of shipping and their safety.
“If 2021 was the year we all noticed shipping, hopefully 2022 will be the year we notice the seafarers,” said Andrew Bowerman, regional director for the Mission to Seafarers charity — a welfare organisation that supports crew in the UAE.
“Only a small minority of crew are badly treated, but we will continue to work on improving the welfare side.
“The big shift is the ability for authorities to now arrest and auction a ship without the need to go through a lengthy court process.
“It should speed up the process of ensuring crew are paid when there is a case of abandonment.
“Things could be resolved in months, rather than years.”
Disrupting the industry
Covid-19 caused huge disruption to shipping in 2021, with tankers delayed from docking causing global logistics to grind to a halt.
Grounded flights delayed crew changes, causing problems for those stuck on ships, and landlocked sailors who needed work to support their families.
“It is an area that needs to be addressed,” said Chris Peters, chief executive of Maritime Logistics at Tristar.
“For every crew stuck at sea for too long, there are more crew not working.
“This year has seen improvements, but there is still a lot more to be done, particularly in the Far East.”
Crew changeovers were worst hit in China. Ships permanently trading in the Far East were often forced to sail into India and the Middle East just to change their onboard staff.
“There was a recognition of issues in the UAE and that was welcome,” said Mr Peters.
“It has been one of the first nations to recognise seafarers properly.”
A new international welfare charter, the Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change, established to resolve maritime issues, has been signed by more than 850 organisations and companies.
It points to a brighter future for vulnerable crew, by recognising them as key workers, industry standard health and safety protocols and greater collaboration between shipping firms and authorities. It also aims to improve air connections between key maritime hubs for seafarers.
David Hammond, chief executive of the Human Rights at Sea organisation, said legislative and policy changes will need to be enforced.
“Without the threat of public exposure surrounding those entities and persons responsible for human, labour, and social rights abuses, the system remains weak, insular, and open to criticism,” he said.
“The main failing of any new regulatory initiative is not doing justice, and not being seen to do justice.
“The greatest challenge to new regulatory regimes is the first-hand exposure of failings by victims of egregious abuse.
“They are increasingly finding their voice through media and social media platforms as powerful levellers to weak enforcement systems.”
The UAE is a founding member of the Riyadh Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to achieve safe, secure and efficient shipping in the maritime jurisdictions in the Arabian Gulf.
Being a flag state, the UAE ranks 21st worldwide in terms of fleet size, with more than 20 major ports spread across from Fujairah to Abu Dhabi.
“As a signatory of the MLC convention, the UAE takes proactive measures to safeguard the interests of seafarers, aiming to improve the quality of life for seafarers,” said Hessa Al Malek, adviser to the Minister for Maritime Transport Affairs, Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure.
“We were one of the first International Maritime Organisation Member States to designate seafarers as key workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and supported seafarers by facilitating safe ship crew change, administering vaccinations, and providing them access to medical care.”
UAE v Zimbabwe A
Results
Match 1 – UAE won by 4 wickets
Match 2 – UAE won by 5 wickets
Match 3 – UAE won by 25 runs
Match 4 – UAE won by 77 runs
Fixture
Match 5, Saturday, 9.30am start, ICC Academy, Dubai
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Company%20profile
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Why are you, you?
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
We are a twenty first century wonder.
Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
Come with questions, leave with visions.
We are the link between the past and the future.
Here, through art, new possibilities are born. And
new answers are given wings.
Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
Because together we create new worlds.
Together we are more powerful than we know.
We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.
Ben Okri,
US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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From exhibitions to the battlefield
In 2016, the Shaded Dome was awarded with the 'De Vernufteling' people's choice award, an annual prize by the Dutch Association of Consulting Engineers and the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers for the most innovative project by a Dutch engineering firm.
It was assigned by the Dutch Ministry of Defence to modify the Shaded Dome to make it suitable for ballistic protection. Royal HaskoningDHV, one of the companies which designed the dome, is an independent international engineering and project management consultancy, leading the way in sustainable development and innovation.
It is driving positive change through innovation and technology, helping use resources more efficiently.
It aims to minimise the impact on the environment by leading by example in its projects in sustainable development and innovation, to become part of the solution to a more sustainable society now and into the future.
Company profile
Name: GiftBag.ae
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2011
Number of employees: 4
Sector: E-commerce
Funding: Self-funded to date
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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RESULT
Bayern Munich 3 Chelsea 2
Bayern: Rafinha (6'), Muller (12', 27')
Chelsea: Alonso (45' 3), Batshuayi (85')
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The BIO
Favourite piece of music: Verdi’s Requiem. It’s awe-inspiring.
Biggest inspiration: My father, as I grew up in a house where music was constantly played on a wind-up gramophone. I had amazing music teachers in primary and secondary school who inspired me to take my music further. They encouraged me to take up music as a profession and I follow in their footsteps, encouraging others to do the same.
Favourite book: Ian McEwan’s Atonement – the ending alone knocked me for six.
Favourite holiday destination: Italy - music and opera is so much part of the life there. I love it.
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
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TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
