Sailors stranded on a ship for two-and-a-half years after it was abandoned by owner
The veterans say theyre owed hundreds of thousands in arrears (Picture: CBC) A pair of sailors have..
A pair of sailors have been stranded on a ship for the past 30 months after its owner abandoned it.
Vyacheslav Borshchevskij and Richard Thompson have been stuck together on the MV Ethan in the Port of Quebec, Canada for two-and-a-half years.
Bahamian company D&D Maritime had handed over more than $750,000 (around £592,000) to buy the ship from Quebec-based Groupe Desgagnes, reported CBC.
The veterans, both aged 59, joined the crew in 2016 and were ready to set sail.
But a year later the new owners couldnt meet financial costs and couldnt pay the crews salaries, leading most workers to leave in 2017.
Vyacheslav, from Ukraine, and Richard, from the Bahamas, decided to stay put on board until they got paid what they were owed – so far a combined total of $264,000 (around £208,000).
The men said they stayed on board because the ships owners kept promising theyd get their money if they waited a bit longer.
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D&D Maritime said they intend to pay the men soon but are waiting for a financial deal to come through.
But the men admitted they never thought it would come to this point and said in the maritime world a ship is never left unmanned.
Vyacheslav hasnt seen his wife and family in Ukraine since he flew into Quebec City before Christmas in 2016.
Richard is upset hes not seen his son grow, who was five years old when he left, and is now almost nine.
He told CBC: We basically kept the ship alive, because we know the ship is worthless if we let it go, if you dont keep the electricity going, the radios warm, the water running through the pipes so they dont freeze.
The couple have learnt to live together, taking it in turns to cook and go food shopping on the ship which was built in 1975.
To make matters worse for the sailors, a Canadian law passed in February automatically transfers the ownership of any abandoned vessel to the government, meaning the men would have no chance of getting their money.
Richard said: How can we go home to our families with zero dollars?
Its an embarrassing situation.
In April this year a judge ordered for the ship to be sold as it had not paRead More – Source
