MV Jouya 8: Families of crew paid a month’s salary, SHC told

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court was informed on Thursday by the federal government that families of the missing crew on-board an ill-fated Iranian cargo ship were paid a month’s salary by their employers after the Foreign Office contacted its counterpart in Iran over the matter.

A crew of eight Pakistanis were on-board cargo ship, MV Jouya 8, when it was reportedly hit by a missile off the coast of Mukha in Yemeni waters in December last year. Of the crew, only one member, chief officer Kabir Hussain, has returned home in Karachi recently while others are feared dead.

The federal government submitted its reply with the SHC bench, comprising Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Arshad Hussain Khan, over a petition moved by the Ansar Burney Trust which broke the news about the incident in Pakistan and made efforts for the recovery of the sailors.

The petitioner’s counsel had submitted that the families of the missing crew were facing hard times and were not paid salaries and other benefits from the shipping agents. The government was not taking any steps for ascertaining their whereabouts, the petitioner added.

The court was informed that under the agreement signed by each crewmember, in case a ship went missing or was not located for a period of 90 days since its last port call, the ship would be considered sunk, its crew assumed drowned and the owner of the ship will be liable to pay all dues and death compensation to the heirs.

On the other hand, the licensee of the shipping agent Arabian Marine Service had submitted that the process of compensation would be initiated as soon as the ministry notifies it whether the crewmembers were missing or dead.

The bench, concluding the hearing, sought a detailed report by the federal government on July 11.

Source: The Express Tribune