20 November 2012, 19:00
Food delivered to ship with Georgian sailors drifting near Panama coast
Today, the Nigerian ship with twelve Georgian sailors, located 5 km from the coast of Panama, is provided with food products, which were taken on board.
The ship owner owed wages to the Nigerian ship team, which included 12 sailors from Georgia and 4 from Nigeria. The ship is out of power, and it is not allowed to enter the port because of its non-compliance with safety standards. The crew appealed for help to the Georgian authorities.
According to Giorgi Djanelidze, the ship's navigator, fuel is promised to be delivered to the ship tomorrow.
He has also noted that they were visited by Malkhaz Mikeladze, Georgian Ambassador to Mexico. According to the team member, the ship owner promised the head of the Georgian diplomatic mission that all issues would be settled in seven days. Besides, the Ambassador also promised to buy medications, since, according to Giorgi Djanelidze, there were no first aid medicines at the ship, the "Georgia Online" reports.
Giorgi Djanelidze explains the reason, why the Georgian sailors appeared in a difficult situation, by the facts that the Georgian shipping industry has no own vessels and that there were also different difficulties with registration of Georgian documents, forcing the sailors to "work for unreliable companies on older ships", the "Ekho Kavkaza" (Echo of the Caucasus) reports.
