Four years on an abandoned ship in Egypt's Red Sea, a sailor even considered taking his own life when he learned that his mother had died
After being trapped on a ship for 4 years, Mohammed Aisha returned to his native Syria. The nightmare, which began on July 5, 2017, has finally come to an end. There were 48 months living practically alone aboard the freighter MV Aman, which was stuck in the Red Sea of Egypt.
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Aisha was a simple crew member when her ship was stranded in the Egyptian port of Adabiya in Cairo. The security equipment documents and the exploitation certificates were expired, which would be easily resolved if the owners did not decide to deny support, due to financial difficulties.
So, in addition to the ship's Lebanese operators not paying for fuel, a local court chose to elect Mohammed Aisha as the ship's deputy captain while the official captain was ashore. Thus, Mohammed would be the newest legal guardian of MV Aman.
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They just forgot one important detail: communicating Aisha. The sailor says that he only became aware of the “new position” months later, when his companions started to abandon ship.
It's been 4 years watching ships enter and leave the neighboring Suez Canal, including the recent blockade caused by the container ship Ever Given
Aisha was born in the Syrian Mediterranean port of Tartus, so this was not a new routine for the sailor. Still, he says that nothing resembles the experience he had during that period. It's been 4 years watching ships enter and leave the neighboring Suez Canal, even witnessing the recent blockade caused by the container ship Ever Given.
Mohammed even made eye contact with his brother, who is also a sailor — even if from afar. They even spoke on the phone, but the distance between them was too great for any further interaction.
For him, the worst moment was in August 2019, when his mother, who was a teacher, died. “I seriously considered ending my life,” he said. And for those who imagine that it was enough for him to abandon ship, he was wrong. Aisha, in addition to being legally required to remain on board, was escorted day and night by an occasional guard.
To make matters worse, the ship had no fuel - and therefore no energy -, there was no remuneration and, for him, the ship felt like a "grave at night". “YOU CAN'T SEE OR HEAR ANYTHING, IT'S LIKE YOU'RE IN A COffin”
Aisha swam ashore to buy food and recharge her phone.
Mohammed stayed that way until March 2020, when another event surprised him: a storm caused the ship to float for 5 miles (8 km), causing the ship to run aground a few hundred meters from shore. What at first seemed like a scary thing turned out to be a gift: from then on, Aisha could swim to the beach every few days, buy food and recharge her phone.
After all that dilemma, the owners of the Aman, Tylos Shipping and Marine Services, say they tried to help Aisha, but their hands were tied.
“We cannot force a judge to remove legal guardianship,” says a representative. “And we couldn't find a single person on this planet to replace him. It wasn’t for lack of trying.”
They explained, too, that Aisha never should have signed the order in the first place. “We are currently working on a case where the company has a huge mortgage on the ship, but its debts go far beyond that. So sometimes it's easier to tell the crew to drop anchor and almost literally walk away.”
This should be a moment for everyone in the shipping industry to reflect
Mohamed Arrachedi of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), which took over Aisha's case in December, argues that this should be a moment for everyone in the shipping industry to reflect. “Aisha's case has to serve to open a serious debate to prevent these abuses to seafarers on ships”, he says.
“THE DRAMA AND SUFFERING OF MOHAMMED AISHA COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF THE OWNERS AND THE PARTIES WITH RESPONSIBILITIES AND OBLIGATIONS FOR THE SHIP HAD ASSUMED THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES AND PROVIDED FOR HER REPATRIATION EARLIER.”
For her part, Aisha said she felt trapped in a situation that was not her own, cornered by Egyptian law and ignored by shipowners. He said months went by with no communication — leaving him feeling let down and isolated.
"Relief. Happiness. How I feel? As if she was finally out of prison. Finally, I will be reunited with my family. I will see them again”. Those were Mohammed's first words when he found freedom. And if you think that experience was enough for him to never go back to sea, you are wrong. Aisha says he's good at her job and can't wait to get back. Once you find your family, of course.
As surprising as the story is, his experience is not unique. In fact, ship abandonment is on the rise. According to the International Labor Organization, there are more than 250 active cases worldwide where crews are simply left to their own devices. The entity claims that 85 new cases were registered in 2020, double the previous year.