‘I’m a vegetarian, but had to eat fish to survive’: 50 Indian seafarers’ months of hunger at sea

“There was a span of three days straight where we lacked food supplies. During that period, a fisherman passing by took mercy on us, providing 5-6 kilos of rice and daal for our use,” said Vipul Shrivastav, a Chief Officer, adding that the small supply had to be rationed carefully among dozens of men, with no certainty of when the next meal would come.

Rescued crew members of three vessels arrive at the Yellow Gate Police Station after their release was ordered by the Bombay High Court, following concerns over their prolonged ordeal off the Mumbai coast. (Express photos by Akash Patil)

The crisis began on February 9, when the Indian Coast Guard intercepted three vessels MT Asphalt Star, MT Stellar Ruby and MT Al Jafzia over allegations of illegal mid-sea fuel and bitumen transfers and AIS spoofing. What followed, the crew say, was abandonment.

In their plea before the court, the seafarers alleged that the ships’ owner, UAE-based Jogender Singh Brar, stopped providing support from April onwards. Records showed that food supplies worth only Rs 1.85 lakh were sent in two instalments, far below the estimated requirement of Rs 7.69 lakh for the period leaving the crew to stretch whatever little they had.

They claimed that food soon ran out and meals were reduced to just rice and salt and sometimes fish.

“Even though I am a vegetarian, I still had to eat fish. What else could we have done? It was a matter of survival,” said 40-year-old Gopal Dass.

Water was even harder to manage. Crew members said they were given barely 300 ml a day — far too little in the heat at sea.

“Given the water shortage, we typically relied on seawater or water stored in the tankers used for bathing,” said Himanshu Singh, a 21-year-old on his first voyage.

Rescued crew members of three vessels arrive at the Yellow Gate Police Station after their release was ordered by the Bombay High Court, following concerns over their prolonged ordeal off the Mumbai coast. (Express photos by Akash Patil)

The lack of food and clean water quickly affected their health. Many complained of weakness, dehydration, rashes and severe weight loss.

“I used to weigh 67 kg, now that has come down to 50 kg because of the kind of food we consumed,” said 23-year-old Ankit Kumar. Medical help, they said, was almost non-existent.

Beyond physical hardship, the mental strain was just as severe. Many chose not to tell their families what they were going through.

“I cannot share this information with my wife or other family members because one of us has to be strong, else the whole family will fall apart,” said Shiv Kumar Sharma, who was also in custody during the period.

Others missed important moments back home.

“I constantly tried to appeal to the authorities to let us go but kept receiving the template response that we cannot leave because the case is in court,” said Nasiruddin Mujibar Rahman Mandal, who missed his daughter’s wedding. Another crew member missed crucial months of his wife’s pregnancy.

As diesel supplies ran low, electricity became unreliable, leaving the vessels in near darkness.

“With absolutely nothing to do we could be pushed to the brink with boredom. To cope with that and to keep the morale high, we would resort to playing games like cards,” said Stephen Dinesh.

Following the Bombay High Court order to release the 50 rescued seafarers, police said they will comply with the directive while continuing their investigation, including deciding the role of Gopal Dass, one of the crew members named as an accused in the case.

Senior inspector Chetan Rathod of Yellow Gate police station said Dass has been allowed to go for now. “We have issued him a notice to join our investigation whenever needed and allowed him to go,” Rathod said, adding that further action will be taken later.

Police said an FIR was registered on February 15 against nine individuals, including the ship’s owner, on charges of criminal conspiracy, smuggling and forgery under customs, shipping and petroleum laws. Earlier, the Indian Coast Guard had intercepted the three vessels—Asphalt Star, Stellar Ruby and Al Jafzia—off the Mumbai coast based on inputs about suspicious movements near Pakistan’s maritime zone.

Investigators said the probe, carried out by a multi-agency team, found that one of the ships allegedly used fake documents to carry out ship-to-ship transfers within India’s Exclusive Economic Zone, including fuel and large quantities of bitumen.

Notably, many recount that despite undergoing this situation, they are still optimistic about returning to sea albeit with a different management. Most crew members claimed that being at sea are the only skills they possess, causing them to likely return to the same profession post a temporary break.

(Oshin Rakshit is an intern with The Indian Express)