Correspondence
Email sent to the contact address for PT Shafar Abadi Indonesia. A hard copy was also mailed to the company.
The email and letter said: "My name is Ian Urbina and I’m the founder of The Outlaw Ocean Project, a nonprofit journalism organization based in the United States. We have been looking into the case of a deckhand named Fadhil who died on board a vessel called the Wei Yu 18 in 2019. Fadhil was recruited by PT Shafar Abadi, and we wanted to share the information we found about this case and ask you a few questions.
In August 2019, two Indonesian deckhands named Sanudin and Ramdhani fell ill and were transported to shore to receive treatment and fly home. In September, Fadhil fell ill, suffering from seizures, thirst, fatigue, swollen feet, and inability to urinate. When Fadhil asked the foreman to take him to shore, the foreman told him he could not. Although Fadhil’s contract had expired on August 23, 2019, after working on the ship for 12 months, the foreman said he was required to stay for two years. On September 26, 2019, Fadhil died.
Fadhil’s body was kept in a freezer for several days. The captain falsely stated that Fadhil’s parents had given permission to dispose of the body offshore, according to a deckhand named Yansel Saputra. We have spoken to Fadhil’s parents, who said they never gave permission for his body to be buried at sea. The family reportedly received a death certificate and was promised money for life insurance and remaining wages by PT Shafar Abadi Indonesia, but had not received any money as of June 2020. In December 2019, PT Shafar Abadi provided Fadhil’s family with a statement that confirmed that he had died and the family signed a reconciliation letter that PT Shafar Abadi said was for insurance reasons. The reconciliation letter stated that Fadhil died after falling overboard. However, we have photos showing Fadhil’s body being placed into a wooden coffin and disposed of at sea.
After Fadhil died, three other deckhands on the ship, named Frans William Imbab, Yansel Saputra, and Frengky, also fell ill with similar symptoms. That six deckhands fell sick over a six-month period, and one of them died, seems to indicate some concerns on the vessel. We have spoken to medical experts who say the same.
We also have evidence that Fadhil and the other deckhands on the ship were victims of trafficking and forced labor. Fadhil signed a contract with PT Shafar Abadi that stipulated there would be no overtime, no sick leave, eighteen- to twenty-hour workdays, seven-day workweeks, and a $50 monthly food deduction. If the fishing vessel was not near a convenient port of repatriation, the contract permitted the captain to extend his stay on board indefinitely. The captain was also granted full discretion over reassigning Fadhil to another ship. Wages were to be paid not monthly to his family but in full only after completion of the contract, a practice that is illegal in most countries.
Under the definition set by the United Nations’ International Labor Organization, forced labor exists when two criteria are met: involuntary work and coercion. Multiple examples of these criteria were found on the Wei Yu 18. The Indonesian fishermen reportedly asked to leave after one year on the vessel, but they were not allowed to leave. The fishermen were also subjected to beatings, unsanitary food and living conditions, and debt bondage.
We would like to ask you a few questions about Fadhil’s death:
- Have you paid Fadhil’s family for the insurance that they’re owed and compensation for their loss in some form? If so, how much?
- Could you please answer for some of the discrepancies we pointed out such as the fact that Fadhil was not allowed to leave even though his contract had expired and despite a medical emergency?
- Why did the reconciliation letter state that Fadhil died from falling overboard when it is clear from photos that he died while he was on the ship?
- What were the conditions on board the ship that contributed to a widespread outbreak of illness over a short period of time?"