The crew of the Yacu Kallpa has been stranded in the port of Tampico, Mexico for almost a month after being detained for carrying alleged illegal cargo.
The ship was carrying some 4,000 tonnes of timber from Peruvian port Iquitos, Peru to Tampico, where it was supposed to be unloaded. However, some of its cargo was found to be illegal and has already been seized by the Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
The 18 crew members of the ship have been abandoned by the Peruvian ship owner Yacu Taski ever since and are faced with lack of supplies, according to the local media .
Moreover, the crew’s captain is said to have asked for help from a human rights organization in the port as the seafarers did not have enough food.
The ship was declared abandoned and has reportedly been put up for sale for USD 4 million. Another potential solution for the crew, is for the legal part of the ship’s cargo to be put up for sale and the proceeds from the sale to be used to pay up the crew’s outstanding salaries and repatriate them.
World Maritime News Staff