Fourteen Indian sailors stranded on board an oil tanker in Bahraini waters since December finally left the country last night.

They were among the 16-member crew of Mongolian vessel MT Surya Kuber, which was banned from leaving the country because its Singapore-based owner 7Seas Ship Management allegedly owed Asry and Kanoo Shipping more than $220,000, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The sailors, 14 from India and two from Myanmar, have allegedly not been paid salaries totalling around $118,000 since October.

The two crew members from Myanmar are due to leave Bahrain today (May 5).

The GDN reported last month that Asry took legal action against the shipping company and its Indian owners - and a Bahraini court in February ordered the seizure of the vessel until the debts were repaid.

Asry chief executive Nils Kristian Berge accused the Singapore-based managers of the ship, as well as the Indian owners, of abandoning their responsibilities and legal obligations.

However, St Christopher's Cathedral assistant chaplain Reverend Stephen Thanapaul, who has been following the case, yesterday accompanied the sailors to Bahrain International Airport so they could return home.

“The sailors are leaving the country without receiving their salaries, but their lawyer has the power of attorney so that he can follow up the case in the court,” said Thanapaul, who is also chaplain for the Mission to Seafarers in Bahrain.

“It is good to see they are going back home after months.

“The Indian Embassy paid for the air tickets for the 14 sailors (from India).”

Indian Embassy first secretary Ram Singh said it also raised money for plane tickets for the two Myanmar citizens through donations from the community.

“We wanted the ordeal for the crew to end and took all measures to ensure they leave the country,” said Singh.

“They have not received their pending salaries for months and the embassy will follow up their case.”

Singh thanked Asry for providing food and other amenities to the crew while they waited for the case to be resolved.

The sailors had registered a complaint at the embassy and with the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions.

Their vessel, previously named the Prathiba Koyna, was at the centre of a similar controversy in 2012 when 34 Indian sailors were stranded in Bahrain for five months before leaving the country without their salaries. - TradeArabia News Service