Eight Central American sailors who have been stranded in Cobh, Co Cork, for the past 18 months, are to be reunited with their families this Christmas. The men were employed by a Dominican Republic shipping company, Baracas Dominicans, which asked them in April last year to escort three tugs and two barges to Cobh for repairs. The vessels had been purchased by the company in Liverpool.
However, by the time the vessels reached Cobh, the deal in Liverpool had fallen through and the sailors found themselves without wages or any means of support. Attempts to get the owners of the vessels to meet their wages and to fly them home to Central America failed.
Since their arrival, the sailors have had to depend on the charity of the people of Cobh as well as assistance from the Seamen's Union of Ireland.
The sailors are owed £56,000 in back pay. Three of the men, from the Dominican Republic, are over 70 years of age and have no option but to continue working as there is no old age pension there. The sailors' spokesman, Mr Raphael Molina, said he had not yet seen his baby daughter and, like the others, he was anxious to get home. The cold weather was difficult for them, especially for his older colleagues.
However, their ordeal may be about to end. The ships owners are about to sign a deal with a Belgian company for the purchase of one of the barges and it is believed this will raise £95,000, enough to pay the men and buy flight tickets to Central America.
All going well, they will be with their families for Christmas. A local hotel has offered free accommodation for their last night to make the start of their journey more comfortable. "It will be lovely to sleep in a real bed on our last night instead of in the cramped bunks," Mr Molina said.