Sailors marooned in United Arab Emirates

Filipino embassy officials in the United Arab Emirates say they are making every effort to end the plight of four Filipino sailors who have been marooned for eight months on a tanker in the port of Jebel Ali.

The Greek-registered ship the MT Carrier was abandoned by its owner after berthing at the port in May for repairs because he was unable to pay for the work.

The four sailors are said to have alerted the Filipino embassy only after their rations ran out.

The embassy says they are owed unpaid salaries totalling nearly twenty-five thousand dollars and are desperate to be repatriated.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service