Some of the 18 Thai crew members rescued from a stricken vessel found drifting without fuel off the coast of Somalia have insisted that crew broker Nithiwat Thiranantakul -- their employer -- had encouraged them to work overseas but later failed to pay their salaries.
All of the 18 workers arrived in Thailand Monday morning after being rescued by Thai authorities from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labour, and the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre last week.
Thanakon Chararam, 36, from Buri Ram, who made a video call to a friend in Thailand requesting help while stranded on the Wadani 1 vessel, said Mr Nithiwat -- also known as Hia Chang or Sia Chang -- had sent men to recruit him and other workers to work on the fishing vessel.
The video call, which was recorded and subsequently posted on social media made headlines and prompted efforts to rescue the crew.
While stranded on the vessel, there was insufficient food for all the crew. As a result, we had to rely on fish caught every day, Mr Thanakon said.
Fortunately, there was sufficient fresh water for consumption, he added.
Mr Nithiwat had prepared all the travel documents and seaman's books for him and all the other workers before they went to Somalia.
Narirat Somrup embraces her son, Chairat Somrup, on his return to Thailand yesterday after being rescued along with 17 other Thai workers from the fishing vessel off Somalia. Apichit Jinakul
All the workers were also paid a sum of money by the broker without any charge before they flew out, Mr Thanakon said, who has previously worked on a fishing vessel in Somalia.
Although Mr Thanakon was paid 5,000 baht on two separate occasions, he never received the monthly salary of 15,000 baht as promised. Besides monetary problems, he insisted there was no other violation in the rights of the workers nor was any threat of physical violence used against them.
Mr Thanakon added that the partial salary payments were transferred to his family's bank account.
The employer had vowed to pay him the rest of the money after he sold the fish caught by the fishing vessel, he said.
At the start of the trip, a total of 22 Thai crew members were sent to work on the vessel, however, four had returned early to Thailand, including a sick worker.
Besides the Thai workers, there were three Somalian fish-sorters and six Somalian security guards assigned to work on the boat, he added.
There were another 20 Thai workers sent to work on a different fishing vessel in Somalia, Wadani 2, without permission by Thai labour authorities, he said.
As of last week, the Wadani 2 was seen in Omani waters and was set to sail to Iran.
The Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre reported that the vessels had been sold to an Iranian operator in 2015 and the Marine Department had excluded them from its list of Thai boats.
Another worker, Thanawat Chaengwet, 37, from Phetchabun, said he decided to go to work in Somalia because he trusted a friend who claimed to have earned very good money from a similar work contract with Hia Chang about four years ago.
Hia Chang will likely face charges for providing a job placement service without a licence, which may result in a jail term of three to 10 years or a fine of between 60,000 baht and 200,000 baht, said an informed source.
Mr Thanawat said the vessel had sold fish twice in Somalia before. He had received 45,000 baht from Hia Chang but was still waiting for another 140,000 baht under the contract.
He had urged the employer to speed up payment to workers.
Last week, Hia Chang told a Thai-language newspaper that he was unable to pay the workers' salaries because seven cargo containers of fish sent from Somalia had yet to pass an inspection by the Fisheries Department.
Meanwhile, the department said there was a requirement to submit proof that imported fish was acquired legally.
Labour Minister MR Chatu Mongol Sonakul said the ministry will closely monitor labour problems in the fishing industry as more of these types of cases are likely to emerge in the future.
Before Thailand began implementing stringent legal measures against illegal, unreported and unregistered (IUU) fishing, there were approximately 30,000 registered Thai fishing trawlers.