Sawt Falasteen - 'No hope': Indian crew stranded off Turkey for months

In a message sent to AFP, the stranded crew members said they were losing hope after 10 months trapped on board the Mongolia-flagged AZRA C that has been moored in the Sea of Marmara since August 2025.

The ship's purported owners were arrested in January in connection with a massive international drugs bust, leaving its fate and those on board in limbo.

"Every day we are losing hope and facing increasing mental pressure and health problems," one Indian crew member told AFP through an intermediary, asking not to be named.

"We are searching for new ways to overcome this situation... We have no words to describe (it)," he said.

The case highlights a growing problem of vessel abandonments, which the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) says has become a systemic problem in the maritime industry.

The ITF's Turkey representative, Selahattin Polat, has demanded the crew be disembarked "as soon as possible", on safety grounds.

"The ship is on the navigation route of other vessels and poses a serious risk in terms of maritime and vessel safety," Polat told AFP.

The Istanbul-based ITF inspector, who has been handling this case and helping the crew, said they were in a very difficult position.

"The ship's owner is under arrest and there's nobody to talk with," said Polat, who also represents the Marine Employees' Solidarity Association (DAD-DER).

The local shipping agents, who provide essential services to a vessel, had stopped providing supplies as they had not been paid.

"Currently, no-one is taking care of the ship. It's completely abandoned," Polat said.

- Link to Spain cocaine bust? -

Under international maritime law, a ship must have sufficient crew members on board at all times to handle any emergencies -- whether the vessel is in port or at anchor.

This means the four sailors, who haven't been paid for months, cannot leave until a new crew arrives.

"There is a shortage of fuel and provisions on board," Polat said, adding: "Legal procedures have been initiated to enable them to leave."

When the vessel arrived in August, it needed repairs and its purported owners, Ahmed al-Masri and Semra al-Masri, were handling matters with the local shipping agent, an industry source said.

But then they disappeared. "We later learned they had been arrested," the source explained.

In mid-January, Istanbul prosecutors named the pair as being among 12 people arrested by Turkish police for alleged "drug trafficking" and "money laundering", Anadolu state news agency reported.

Prosecutors said the raids were directly linked to Spain's seizure of 10 tonnes of cocaine from a ship called the "United S" off the Canary Islands a week earlier.

Key among the detainees was a suspect called Cetin Goren, whom Turkish media reports also linked to the AZRA C.

Hurriyet newspaper said the vessel had initially been earmarked to carry the haul but the plan was shelved when the ship broke down.

- Abandonments rife off Turkey -

ITF figures show 2025 was the worst year on record for abandonment, affecting 6,233 seafarers on 410 ships, with Indian nationals most affected.

Turkey was the country where most abandonments took place, accounting for 61 cases last year.

So far this year, there have been 151 cases, the ITF said.

The issue raises serious concerns about the protection of seafarers and international maritime obligations, according to Arif Sinan Unlu, lawyer and mediator.

There are currently 15 foreign-flagged vessels classed as abandoned in the Sea of Marmara, he said -- figures confirmed by the ITF.

Istanbul's port authorities are closely monitoring the situation, as is the Indian consulate, which is trying to secure the sailors' repatriation.

For now, the ITF and the DAD-DER were providing the stranded sailors with drinking water and essential supplies, Polat explained.

The vessel needed to be handed to a trustee or a new crew brought in but, he acknowledged, such procedures "would take time".

Although grateful for the ITF's help and efforts by the consulate, one of the stranded sailors told AFP they had "little hope someone will come and rescue us".

If someone were to come and talk with him face-to-face, "I would break down crying," he said.

O.Salim--SF-PST