Currently, eleven crew members are marooned on board the MV Raider in the port city of Sydney after the vessel, which was earlier associated with the seizure of a massive quantity of drugs in the Pacific Ocean, was escorted into the city after a distress call.
The vessel has been moored at Snails Bay after the Australian Maritime Safety Authority reported that the crew had less food and fuel.
It has been reported that the crew members, who are from Honduras and Ecuador, have not been arrested.
On January 16, the vessel was intercepted by the French Navy in the vicinity of French Polynesia and was found carrying almost five tonnes of cocaine.
Reuters reported that the quantity of cocaine seized was more than four tonnes, but Australian reports indicated that the quantity was 4.8 tonnes or 4.87 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated value of more than $1 billion and the intended destination being Australia.
The cocaine was destroyed by the French Navy, but the vessel and crew were allowed to proceed as the seizure was made in international waters and the drugs were not intended for French Polynesia.
It is now a human story instead of a criminal one as a result of that decision.
The International Transport Workers Federation claims the men were hired to deliver the ship from Panama to an Australian buyer and should be returned home rather than left in suspense, while Border Force is currently providing food and water.
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The union claimed that the crew had little water remaining on board and had run out of food before assistance could arrive.
The men are expected to be held in immigration detention as officials assess the vessel and prepare to remove the men from Australia.
Maritime law experts told the network that there may be little opportunity for Australia to prosecute the men, as the seizure occurred outside of Australian waters and the cocaine was gone from the ship when it approached Sydney.
