Four Vietnamese sailors jumped off a Taiwanese shipping vessel off the shores of Panama because of alleged labour abuses.
(left to right) Tran Van Duong, Dao Ngoc Trung, Ho Thanh Tung
Dao Ngoc Trung, one of the four sailors, said that a broker had hired him and his nephew as crew on a Taiwanese ship in June 2012. While Duong worked on deck, Trung served as the cook. Both were employed by Cheng Cheng Shipping at the wage of VND6.5 million per month (USD311). The ship also had 16 Filipino employees, 4 Chinese and one Indonesian.
"We had to work 18 hours a day, sometimes longer. We were at sea for 13 months, with no idea of when we would return," Duong said.
Trung said that their meals were so bad that they were forced to fish to provide their own food. "There were times that we were served rotten meat. I didn't dare cook and serve it to the rest of the crew, which left us surviving on mushrooms."
In early August, the ship made a stop in Panama because the Indonesian employee was ill. At midnight of August 14, four sailors decided to escape.
"We saw a police station 500 metres away so we jumped out, hung on to a buoy and waited until morning. We called for help when the police passed by." Tung, another sailor said.
Trung with his wife and child
The four sailors were brought to the Vietnamese Embassy in Panama and quickly transported home.
Tran Thi Nam, Tung's wife, said she has only received four months' pay, though he had been at the sea for seven months. "I was so worried when I heard through the media that he jumped ship. I'm just relieved to see him," she added.
The four sailors have been unable to contact the shipping company since their return to Vietnam.
In March 2007, six Vietnamese sailors also escaped from a foreign ship at Panama due to labour abuses.