英文來源：The Guardian
被船東棄船後，最近又擱淺在阿聯海域，已經近4年沒有下地的一艘油輪的船員終於要下船回家與家人團聚了。（相關文章：太可憐了！在海上漂了4年後還不能下船回家！）
The crew of an oil tanker who have not set foot on dry land for nearly four years after being abandoned on board their ship, which later ran aground off the United Arab Emirates, are finally going home to see their families.
這艘5000噸的油輪名為「MT Iba」，3年前由於船東的財務問題而棄船，並且不再付船員薪水。最近這5名自稱經歷了「人間地獄」的船員們拿到了安置薪水，並將於3月遣返回家。
The seafarers, who said they experienced 「living hell」 on board the 5,000-ton MT Iba after the tanker’s owner hit financial problems and stopped paying salaries almost three years ago, have been given a settlement for wages owed to them. They hope to be repatriated in March.
周一，這5名船員短暫而激動地下船上岸，與船東Alco Shipping的代表在Umm Al Quwain的海灘上會面。來自新買家Shark Power Marine Services的2張支票已通過「The Mission to Seafarers」（一個專門服務船員的基督教慈善組織）移交給船員，該組織一直代表船員與船東進行談判。船員們同意接受165,000美元的未付工資，大約是所欠工資的65％至70％。
The five-man crew had a brief and emotional trip to dry land to meet with representatives of Alco Shipping, the vessel’s owner, on the beach at Umm Al Quwain, on Monday. Two cheques from a new buyer, Shark Power Marine Services, were handed over to the crew via the Mission to Seafarers charity, which has been negotiating on their behalf. They agreed to accept $165,000 (£119,000) in unpaid wages, around 65% to 70% of the wages they were owed.
兩周半前，該船錨斷後漂流至這一繁忙的港口擱淺，目前正在對該船的損壞進行評估。
Work is under way to assess the damage to the oil tanker when it broke anchor and drifted from the busy port, before beaching two and a half weeks ago.
來自緬甸的53歲輪機長Nay Win說：該船的買家向我們承諾我們可以回家，我希望3月5日後就可以回家，我的家人真的很開心。
Nay Win, the 53-year-old chief engineer, who is from Myanmar, said: 「The buyer has promised us we will get home and I hope I will get home after 5 March. My family are really happy.」
輪機長Win和52歲的巴基斯坦籍大管輪Riasat Ali自2017年7月就開始在船上，26歲的廚師Monchand Sheikh是2018年晚些時候登船，另一名大管輪-31歲的Vinay Kumar和22歲的Nirmal Singh-Bora則於2019年登船，他們都來自印度。
Riasat Ali, a 52-year-old second engineer from Pakistan, have been on board since July 2017. Monchand Sheikh, 26, a cook from India, joined in late 2018, while Vinay Kumar, 31, another second engineer, and Nirmal Singh-Bora, 22, both from India, joined in late 2019.
△ 從左至右，分別是：大管輪Riasect Ali，Nirmal Singh-Bora，廚師Monchand Sheikh
△ 另一名大管輪：31歲的Vinay Kumar
「The Mission to Seafarers」中東和南亞區域主任Rev Andy Bowerman說：「希望一切都很好，從現在開始的15天內，他們將在杜拜港口回家。」
The Rev Andy Bowerman, Mission to Seafarers regional director in the Middle East and south Asia, said: 「Hopefully, all being well, 15 days from now, they will be at the port of Dubai and ready to go home.」
△ 資料圖：圖中右為Rev Andy Bowerman
Bowerman說，船員們和船東代表在沙灘上的會面激動人心，對於有些船員來說是近4年來才下地！
It was an emotional meeting at the beach, Bowerman said, marking the first time some of the seafarers had been ashore in almost four years.
「船員們下船並遊到岸上，輪機長Nay Win哭了。我的手裡拿著一張支票。遺憾的是，他們並不能那天就下船然後立刻回家。」
「The crew came off and swam to the shore. Nay Win was in tears. He was off the boat, there was a cheque in my hands. But unfortunately they could not just step down and go home.」
船員們已經同意在船被拖到杜拜之前繼續留在船上做一些必要的工作，他們仍需要在杜拜逗留15天以等待該船完成交易手續。
The seafarers have agreed to stay on to do essential work on the ship before it is towed to Dubai, where they will wait 15 days for legal work on the sale of the vessel to be completed.
然後，他們將拿到另一半工資，然後回家。
They will then be paid the other half of the money they are owed, and repatriated.
阿聯能源和基礎設施部發言人說，當局正在幫助這些船員通過使館續籤護照，以便可以將他們迅速遣返。船員將要求進行一次核酸測試，如果測試結果為陰性，則允許其上飛機；否則，將安排進行隔離。
A spokesperson for the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure said the authorities were helping the seafarers renew passports via their embassies, so they could be quickly repatriated. The crew will require a PCR Covid-19 test, and will be allowed to fly if the test is negative; otherwise, arrangements will be made for quarantine.
根據國際海事組織（International Maritime Organization）的資料庫，當被問及阿聯為什麼是船員被拋棄情況最嚴重的國家時，發言人表示，阿聯是繁忙的海上樞紐，有20個活躍的港口，所以來往船隻比較多，也因此導致更多的類似案件。目前尚沒有允許港口扣押被棄船並在沒有法院介入的情況下對其進行拍賣的新法律。
Asked why the UAE is the worst country for seafarer abandonment, according to a database run by the International Maritime Organization, the spokesperson said that it was a busy maritime hub, with 20 active ports, and that more traffic led to more cases. New legislation that would allow the port to arrest an abandoned ship and auction it without the involvement of the courts was not yet in place.
國際運輸工人聯合會（ITF）阿拉伯世界和伊朗網絡協調員Mohamed Arrachedi表示，該船的情況這麼久才得以解決，說明了有些東西錯得離譜，必須糾正。
Mohamed Arrachedi, Arab world and Iran network coordinator for the International Transport Workers』 Federation (ITF) said the long-running case of the Iba was a 「symptom that something very wrong exists and has to change」.
「船員是使船隻在海上航行的勞動力。他們的權利、福祉、工資、工作條件和福利必須放在優先位置。」
「The seafarers are the workforce that keeps ships at sea. Their rights, wellbeing, wages, conditions and welfare must be at the centre of priorities.」