Nine crew members stranded on abandoned ship in Zonguldak

Nine crew members, including one Ukrainian and eight Azerbaijanis, are stranded on the 123-year-old container ship Brabus at the Zonguldak port in Turkey. The vessel, owned by the Istanbul-based company Sea Express, was abandoned by its shipowner after running out of fuel while transporting cargo from Istanbul to Ordu.

The crew is facing severe humanitarian conditions, lacking clean water, food, and fuel. Due to the lack of electricity, they rely on port streetlights for illumination. The situation has led to health crises; three workers have been hospitalized with skin diseases, and another was treated for heart attack risks. As of August, the crew is owed approximately $106,705 in unpaid wages spanning six months.

Complications have arisen because inspections revealed the company's documentation to be fraudulent, preventing the workers from docking at other ports or returning to their home countries. While the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) helped secure a week's worth of rations, the crew remains in a precarious state, reporting that port security occasionally provides basic food items like bread and tomatoes to assist them.