Decades
ago – while we were returning from Rajamundry on dead of night – the experienced
person advised the driver 1) never stop your vehicle in a dark place in a
highway 2) never give lift to a stranger on the way !
Movie heroes are
different - from bullets and bombs to murderers,
madmen and even meteors – they can tackle easily – a dozen heavily armed men
with guns, hero can handle with a grimace and a small wodden log or any other small
instrument .. we have seen them fight, on the road, on the truck, on moving
trains and even on the wings of an aircraft.
In the movie Sengottai, Arjun would be escorted by the villain’s
henchman, he would give the thug a slip, manage to get out of a running place,
reach Red Fort and save the Nation. My friend
who heavily criticized this scene, remained mute when Bruce Willis could run on
the wings of a moving plane, and neutralize heavily armed villain ! - not
connected here is a beautiful photo of a massive Antonov aircraft – look at the
no. of wheels !
Sky and Sea are
much different than land .. .. Shipping is perhaps the most international of
all the world's great industries - and one of the most dangerous. It has always
been recognized that the best way of improving safety at sea is by developing
international regulations that are followed by all shipping nations. IMO's
first task when it came into being in 1959 was to adopt a new version of the
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the most
important of all treaties dealing with maritime safety. IMO has also developed and adopted
international collision regulations and global standards for seafarers, as well
as international conventions and codes relating to search and rescue, the
facilitation of international maritime traffic, load lines, the carriage of
dangerous goods and tonnage measurement.
You might
find this strange but they are real – ‘stowaways’ – the unauthorized passengers
on ship (sometimes on aircraft too !) between Jan 2004 and Mar 2015, six stowaways were found on
aircraft at UK airports, according to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Another stowaway was found on board a UK airline at an overseas airport. Figures from the US Federal Aviation
Administration suggested that 96 people hid under planes during flights around
the world between 1947 and 2012, with incidents occurring on 85 flights. Aviation
experts would add that many stowaways don't make it to their destinations,
making it difficult to gauge the number of incidences.
A
stowaway is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as a ship, an
aircraft, a train, cargo truck or bus. It is not exactly a free travel hitching
on a vehicle as people would do on a train – moving from one place to another
(Tamil Nadu has a great example of a person who came to Chennai without
purchasing a ticket and raising to ……. ………. ) ~ in most cases, the goal is to
escape from one Country and reach a safer country – travelling without visa or
permission, or escaping conviction. In Europe,
it is feared that they might risk their lives to somehow contort themselves in
to smaller places and hitch a hike on the vehicle, inside the container, inside
cargo space, and somehow get along.
The maritime
news is that of a captain and his crew
pleading guilty to attempted murder
after throwing two terrified stowaways into a shark infested ocean to avoid
catching coronavirus from them. Skipper Cui Rongli watched as his crew built a
makeshift raft roping together sealed plastic drums and plywood then stopped
his ship to dump the petrified pair overboard in waters off South Africa. Distraught
Amiri Salamu, 20 and Hassani Rajabu, 30, were given just a life jacket and two
bottles of water each and told which way to paddle with their hands to reach
the nearest land.
The MV Top Grace
bulk carrier which police intercepted, docked in Richards Bay, South Africa. Police boarded the ship to arrest the captain and crew who have now
been charged with attempted murder after casting two stowaways adrift in the
Indian Ocean. The two Tanzanian stowaways cast adrift at sea left by the crew
with a couple of bottles of water and placed in a makeshift raft were rescued and taken by ambulance to hospital at
Zinkwazi Beach in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. With no food to eat and
at the mercy of the wind and sea currents they were cast adrift on the high
seas fearing being swamped by the waves or their raft falling apart at any
moment.
Three days and two
nights later the Tanzanian stowaways were washed up exhausted onto a tourist
beach at dusk on the KwaZulu-Natal coast of South Africa 50 miles north of
Durban. They had drifted through one of the most shark infested areas of the
North Coast by the Tugela River mouth where Great Whites, Hammerheads, Tiger and
Bull Sharks all gather. They had been buffeted by strong winds but sea currents
had carried their flimsy raft to the safety of Zinkwazi Beach, although they
had to swim the last stretch over a rocky reef.
Shocked locals saw
them pair wading through the surf and paramedics said they were suffering from
hypothermia, thirst and hunger having been given no food and little water to
survive. The police launch was sent to intercept the MV Top Grace, the Bulk
Carrier at Richards Bay, South Africa. The 600 foot long ship was impounded
when it docked at Richards Bay further north up the coast where officers boarded the vessel and arrested the ship's captain.
When the South
African Maritime Safety Agency received news of the stowaways being abandoned
to their fate in the Indian Ocean they contacted the bulk carrier MV Top Grace
by radio. The castaways had remembered the name of the ship and that the crew
were 'Chinese looking'. The Chinese skipper and six crew Lin Xinyong, Zou
Yongxian, Tan Yian, Xie Wenbin, Xu Kun and Mu Yong all admitted attempted
murder at Durban Magistrates Court. The
Master of the ship Captain Rongli was fined £4350 and each of the crewmen £2175
in a plea bargain agreement which was ratified by the magistrate Garth Davis. Captain Rongli was told he would be sent to
prison for four years if he did not pay up.
Prosecutor Vishalan
Moodley said the seven men pleaded guilty in terms of 'dolus eventualis' in
that they knew there was a possibility the stowaways might die or perish at
sea. The court heard the bulk carrier built in 2016 arrived at Durban harbour
from Singapore and while at anchor the two Tanzanian's climbed the anchor chain
and stowed away. The 35,000 ton Hong Kong registered ship sailed on March 26
and the following day when 25 miles out to sea to the two stowaways 'popped up'
on the main deck. The magistrate heard that the stowaways refused to give their
nationality but were given food and water and isolated in a room while the crew
worked out what to do. The Captain and crew of the ship were
wary of the men and asked them to wear face masks in light of the Covid-19
pandemic. 'The men refused to wear the face masks so were put in a separate
room as their Covid-19 status was unknown and there was a fear by the crew
about the virus'.
The court was told
the following day a decision was taken to throw them off the ship and the crew
built a makeshift raft made out of plastic drums and plywood and rope. The MV
Top Grace sailed to within three nautical miles off the South African coast and
lowered the pair by ladder into the flimsy raft rocking in the seas 60 feet
below. They provided the men with life jackets and the
crew acted in a threatening manner banging the vessel's decks as they descended
into the raft. The ship pulled away leaving them once they were on board the
raft. The accused admitted that their actions could have resulted in serious
injury and even the loss of life' she said.
Defence advocate
Willie Lombard said in mitigation Salumu and Rajabu had been given life jackets
and water and could see land when cast adrift and suffered no external
injuries. He said: 'There were many mitigating factors and if the crew had
wanted to be cruel they could have dropped them in the high seas much further
out without life jackets'. The stowaways have been detained by the South
African immigration authorities and are awaiting the results of Covid-19 tests
and still face possible criminal charges. It is believed the Chinese captain
and crew have paid their fines and are free to sail back to China having
arrived in Durban last month with a full cargo from Singapore.
Under Maritime Law
any stowaways must not be mistreated and must be landed at the next port of
call and the shipping company is responsible for all the costs of repatriation. The Convention on Facilitation of
International Maritime Traffic, 1965, as amended, (The FAL Convention), defines
a stowaway as "A person who is secreted on a ship, or in cargo which is
subsequently loaded on the ship, without the consent of the shipowner or the
Master or any other responsible person and who is detected on board the ship after
it has departed from a port, or in the cargo while unloading it in the port of
arrival, and is reported as a stowaway by the master to the appropriate
authorities". The presence of
stowaways on board ships may bring serious consequences for ships and, by
extension, to the shipping industry as a whole; the ship could be delayed in
port; the repatriation of stowaways can be a very complex and costly procedure
involving masters, shipowners, port authorities and agents; and the life of
stowaways could be endangered as they may spend several days hidden, with the
risk of suffocation and without any water / provisions.
Inhumane
act, some may jump to say – but what would people normally do ? – would they
risk keeping the strangers who had surreptiously gained access to the vessel to
remain alongside till their next port of call, risking the possibility of
dreaded disease or act in the manner they did ?
Opinions may differ.
With regards
– S. Sampathkumar
20.4.2020.
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