The crew of an oil tanker beached off UAE, MT Iba, will be repatriated after being abandoned and stranded at sea for four years. Alco Shipping, the owner of the vessel, hit financial problems and stopped paying salaries almost three years ago. The seafarers have been given a settlement for wages owed and they hope to be repatriated in March. Two cheques from a new buyer, Shark Power Marine Services, were handed over to the crew via the Mission to Seafarers charity, which has been negotiating on their behalf. They agreed to accept around 65% to 70% of the wages they were owed. Work is under way to assess the damage to the oil tanker when it broke anchor and drifted from the busy port, before beaching two and a half weeks ago. The seafarers have agreed to stay on to do essential work on the ship before it is towed to Dubai, where they will wait for the sale of the vessel to be completed.
