Bulker crew stranded in Nigeria without pay for three months

The crew of the 2008-built bulker Eleen Armonia has been stranded in Nigeria for more than three months without receiving salaries.

According to an email sent to Splash from a crew representative, many crew contracts have already expired, but the owner of the Liberian-flagged vessel has refused to arrange repatriation or crew change. He also noted that the crew’s mental health is at a critical level.

Despite repeated complaints filed with the Liberian Registry, the Nigerian Maritime Union, and the vessel’s P&I insurer, no action has been taken.

“The crew remains onboard in increasingly difficult conditions, without income and with uncertainty about when they will be paid or allowed to return home,” the email said.

The Equasis database states that the 55,522 dwt Eleen Armonia is owned and managed by Bulgaria-based Eleen Marine.

“We have been abandoned without wages since June 2025. Our families are suffering, and we have no clear information about when this situation will end. We urgently call on the Liberian flag, the Nigerian authorities, and international organisations to intervene,” the crew representative said.

The crew requests urgent international attention and calls on the Liberian Registry, ITF, and the Nigerian Port State Control to ensure payment of outstanding wages and safe repatriation.

The email stated that this situation may constitute a violation of the Maritime Labour Convention, which guarantees the timely payment of wages and repatriation of seafarers.

By Bojan Lepic, Splash247

Nigeria’s first female tugboat Captain emerges

Following the emergence of the first female Tug Boat Captain, Canus Ebinipre Robinson, Acting Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Mohammed Bello-Koko, has restated that the agency will continue to empower and provide opportunities for women in the maritime industry, while taking deliberate steps to nurture young women maritime professionals.

Bello-Koko gave this assurance last week in Lagos at a reception in honour of the country’s first female Azuimuth Stern Drive (ASD) Tugboat Captain Robinson, organized by LTT Coastal and Marine Services, the company managing the Authority’s marine crafts.

He said the Nigerian Ports Authority as an equal opportunity organization is always delighted to be associated with exceptional feats especially when accomplished by our female professionals.

He stated: “In our relentless drive to improve operational efficiency we recently invested heavily on the acquisition of world class tugs to boost towage and mooring operations at the Port, so the news of increasing availability of local talent and expertise to seamlessly maneuver sophisticated high performance vessels such as the ASD is heart gladdening for us”. He commended the Management of LTT Coastal & Marine Services Limited for the foresight that birthed such achievement.

“This feat is more heartwarming for us at the NPA because it shows that stakeholders are keying into our efforts at promoting the participation of women in the maritime ecosystem. If we must optimize the ever growing potentials and dynamism of the global Port system, we must create an atmosphere conducive for increased participation of women in port operations”, he remarked.

He described the emergence of the first female Tug boat Captain in West Africa from Nigeria as an uncommon feat that should challenge our young ladies to aspire to achieve greater heights, not because of their gender but because of their capacity.

The Authority according to the NPA Boss places high premium on gender, in her overall talent development agenda.

Capt. Ebinipre Canus Robinson, West Africa’s first female ASD Tug Boat Captain is from Bayelsa State in Nigeria. She is a product of the National Seafarers Development Programme, promoted by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

By Godwin Oritse 

Vanguard