Star-Apollo

Vessel SHREE VARSHA (IMO: 9644897) has been reported to the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) for abandonment. Details: - Flag: Tuvalu - Port: Mumbai - Country: India - Owed Wages: 4 months - Number of Seafarers: 12 - Seafarer Nationalities: Indonesia - Reported to ITF: 01 Dec 2025 - Status: Open This information is sourced from the ITF Seafarers abandonment list, which tracks cases of crew abandonment worldwide.

A group of 15 Indian seafarers aboard the 'Star Apollo' (Shree Varsha) have raised urgent concerns about their situation after going unpaid for months. Their plight underscores a growing crisis of seafarer abandonment that the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is now characterizing as increasingly severe. The 'Star Apollo' has been docked at the Batamec Shipyard since Oct 2024. The crew members began their contracts just four to eight months ago but claim they have not received any wages during this entire period. In a video released with ITF’s assistance, the seafarers can be seen holding handwritten signs that highlight food shortages and threats from ship management when inquiries about their unpaid salaries are made. They were pleading for intervention from Indian unions and the vessel’s flag state to secure their return home along with their owed wages. The vessel was sold earlier in 2025 to the Vindhyawashini offshore, a Mumbai-based company, and has been registered under the flag of St. Kitts and Nevis. ITF Global Inspectorate Coordinator Steve Trownsdale has noted that the distress experienced by the crew is affecting their physical and mental health. The ITF was working to recover nearly $80,000 in unpaid wages for the crew.

The 15 Indian crew members of the 'Star Apollo' have not been paid their salaries since the start of their contracts, lasting between four and eight months. In total, they are owed almost $80,000. The crew’s health is also becoming an issue, according to the International Transport Workers Federation. The vessel is currently docked at the Batamec Shipyard. ITF Inspector Mohammad Gulam Ansari, based in India, who is supporting the crew, said: “This is an Indian shipowner exploiting Indian seafarers, treating them like slaves. It’s yet another example of an owner refusing to take responsibility.” A video and image of the crew showrf them holding signs for help. Some of them include “when we ask for [our] salary, the company is threatening to block our COC (certificate of competency) and INDoS numbers”, “we don’t have proper food on board”, and calls to the ITF and the flag-state to resolve the situation. The owner of the vessel is the Vindhyawashini Offshore. The crew also used a sign to name not just the owner of the vessel but also the RPSL agent Avvic Ocean and the sourcing agent Great India Shipmanagement. Report with photo: https://splash247.com/abandoned-osv-crew-take-to-social-media-to-get-paid/

Vessel STAR APOLLO (IMO: 9644897) has been reported to the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) for abandonment. Details: - Flag: St. Kitts & Nevis - Port: Batam - Country: Indonesia - Owed Wages: 5 months - Number of Seafarers: 15 - Seafarer Nationalities: India - Reported to ITF: 15 Jan 2025 - Status: Open This information is sourced from the ITF Seafarers abandonment list, which tracks cases of crew abandonment worldwide.