Riyadh, Nov. 13 (SANA) The Syrian Embassy in Riyadh helped rescue five Syrian sailors who had been stranded aboard a deteriorating vessel off Saudi Arabia’s Jazan port for six months, coordinating with Saudi authorities to bring them ashore after receiving an emergency distress call.
The crew, including the ship’s captain, had faced shortages of food, water and fuel, as well as severe weather conditions in the Red Sea.
Captain Walid Mohammad Abu Bakr, a native of Syria’s Arwad Island, told SANA that the vessel’s owner had abandoned the crew, leaving them exposed to dangerous conditions and illness.
Embassy coordinates with Saudi authorities
The embassy said it received a distress call through its emergency hotline from Abu Bakr, who reported that he and four other Syrian sailors were stranded off Jazan and unable to continue their voyage because of difficult living conditions aboard the ship.
Embassy officials immediately contacted the relevant Saudi authorities to arrange assistance and facilitate the sailors’ entry into the kingdom.
The embassy said its intervention was part of its responsibility to protect Syrian citizens abroad and respond to emergencies. It thanked Saudi authorities for their cooperation in resolving the crew’s situation.
Food shortages and deteriorating conditions
Abu Bakr said the sailors endured severe shortages of food, drinking water and fuel during their six months at sea.
With electricity supplies running low, the crew was forced to ration power despite the high temperatures in the Red Sea.
According to the captain, the crisis began when maritime inspectors and port authorities in Jazan refused to allow the vessel to enter port for loading because of its poor technical condition and lack of seaworthiness.
He said the ship’s owner, a Yemeni businessman who had purchased the vessel only six months earlier, subsequently withdrew from the shipping agency arrangements and disappeared, leaving financial obligations unresolved.
Abu Bakr said Saudi border guard and port officials boarded the vessel to investigate. He provided documents and records that he said established the crew’s lack of responsibility for the ship’s condition.
Aging vessel posed safety risks
The captain described the vessel as more than 45 years old and suffering from serious structural and mechanical defects.
He said holes in the hull, keel and ballast tanks had caused water leaks, while aging generators and a poorly functioning main engine further compromised the ship’s safety.
Abu Bakr said contacting the Syrian Embassy marked a turning point, prompting official efforts to press the shipping agent to resolve the situation.
He praised embassy staff for their intervention, which enabled the sailors to be transferred to Jeddah ahead of their planned return to Syria.
During the ordeal, Abu Bakr said he wrote his first book, Healing Begins with Returning to God, a work of approximately 120 pages inspired by his experience and reflections while stranded at sea.
MHD
