THE stranded crew of an Algerian ship, MV Blida, have obtained a court order stopping the owners from receiving payment from its sale.

The ship that was hijacked by Somali pirates and held in captivity for 11 months was sold at $1,000,000 (about Sh87 million) following a petition by the crew.

The abandoned crew include 10 Ukrainian and three Kenyans who served in the ship that was ferrying 19,000 metric tonnes of clinker to Tanzania. A Mombasa court gave the sailors orders to sell the ship after losing contact with the owners after offloading their property.

In a sworn affidavit by Divosky Igor, the captain of the ship, the crew is claiming an accumulated salary of $200,000 (Sh17.4 million) from proceeds of the sale.

Igor said they had gone without proper food and provisions from the ship owners for several months and have asked the court to stop them from receiving the sale proceeds.

The sailors through lawyer Ananda Manase said they were unable to serve defendants with summons when they appeared before Justice Maureen Odero yesterday.

Odero directed the applicants to serve the defendants by email and extended the interim orders stopping the payment of proceeds. Hearing was set for Monday 11.