TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Seaman Otto Lasrado and the crew of the M V Agatis won the court case against their shipping company. The company’s owner agreed to pay the crew’s salary by Monday and to relieve the crew of their duties by May 21.
Lasrado, the chief cook on the controversial ship, had decided to go on a hunger strike from Monday if those demands were not met.
He and his 18-member crew were stranded on the ship, docked at Cape Town, for more than three months. Their condition came to light only after an intervention by the International Transport Federation.
Lasrado informed Herald that the crew was kept in darkness about the salaries. The company owner’s representative had repeatedly promised to credit the salaries in their account, however, no money materialized.
“The situation on board didn’t improve either. However, after the media stepped up the pressure, things changed for the better. The Goa Seamen Association and the NRI Affairs Director at Goa, by corresponding with the Indian High Commission in Cape Town, have helped me a lot to get my rightful freedom. I am thankful to them,” said Lasrado. He also thanked Goa’s media for highlighting the crew’s situation.
