A four-year nightmare has ended for seafarer Mohammad Aisha who has been trapped aboard an abandoned vessel in the Suez Canal while waiting for the vessel to be sold.
He has finally boarded a plane to return to his native Syria thanks to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) which offered to have one of its union representatives in Egypt take his place and become the legal guardian of the vessel.
Aisha was the chief officer onboard the Bharani-flagged Aman for just two months before the vessel was detained by Egyptian authorities due to expired safety equipment certificates.
When the owner abandoned the ship an Egyptian court designated the captain as the vessel’s ‘legal guardian’ – preventing him from leaving until it had been sold or a replacement guardian found.
The Aman had no power and was covered in insects and rodents. Aisha had to swim ashore to charge his phone, and for food and water.
The ITF’s Arab World and Iran network coordinator Mohamed Arrachedi has been working tirelessly for the release of the seafarer but faced continued inaction from the shipowner, the Bahraini registry, and Egyptian authorities.
Aisha told the BBC how he felt minutes before his plane was due to take off: “How do I feel? Like I finally got out of prison. I'm finally going to be rejoined with my family. I'm going to see them again."