Emergency supplies delivered to stranded Russian crew in Dubai

The mainly Russian crew of a vessel stranded in Dubai have received emergency supplies after going several days without food and water.

VLADIVOSTOK, September 7 (RIA Novosti) - The mainly Russian crew of a vessel stranded in Dubai have received emergency supplies after going several days without food and water, the International Transport Workers' Federation said on Monday.

The Magdalena, flying the flag of Antigua and Barbuda, has been anchored in Dubai since early August. The vessel's owner reportedly owes the crew $230,000 in wage arrears.

Spokesman Pyotr Osichansky told RIA Novosti on Monday: "The captain said that two weeks' worth of water supplies, provisions for three weeks, and fuel for 50 days have been provided."

"The captain said the supplies arrived only after multiple requests from the crew, and stories in the media on the desperate plight of the sailors. Until then, the sailors' attempts to contact the ship owners had produced no results," he said.

Onboard are nine Russians, two Ukrainians, four citizens of the Philippines, and one Estonian.

Several similar incidents have occurred involving Russian sailors abroad. Last September, Chinese authorities impounded the Vasily Yan cargo ship and the Professor Voskresensky vessel over debts of the ships' Russian owner, the Arctic Shipping Company. The 21 crew members on board the two ships have not been paid since April 2009, and currently have insufficient reserves of food, fuel and drinking water.

In addition, around 60 Russian sailors on six fishing vessels were "abandoned" in Vietnam by Russian ship owners. The sailors have not been paid wages for several months.