Hunger strike of abandoned bulker crew in Kuwait moves into 2nd month After 11 months without pay for their families, 19 seafarers on board the MV Ula bulk carrier in the port of Shuaiba, Kuwait have gone on a hunger strike, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) said. The mixed crew from India, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Bangladesh are demanding immediate repatriation and payment of $410,415.65 they are owed in wages. They have rejected all meals from 7 January, saying they cannot eat while their families go hungry. Their hunger strike now drags into February. Six of the crew have already been hospitalised to stabilise their blood pressure and sugar levels, before they were returned to the ship. The seafarers remain at risk of dying if they continue to refuse food.