A SHIP that has been an enforced home to its crew in Aberdeen Harbour for 16 months failed to sell at auction yesterday.

Some of the crew members will now remain stuck on the impounded Malaviya Seven, possibly for many more months.

It had been hoped that the Indian-flagged ship, a 1200-ton offshore supply vessel, would be sold for around £800,000 to recoup the back wages owed to 12 crew members, six of whom remain on board. They were originally found in what one trade union leader called “conditions of modern slavery”.

The men went to court last month, having stayed aboard Malaviya Seven maintaining the vessel since it was impounded in Aberdeen in June last year over owners’ GOL Offshore of Mumbai’s failure to pay its crew.

A similar vessel, Malaviya Twenty, was detained in Yarmouth for the same reason, but its crew were able to return home earlier this year after a bank in India intervened to pay them.

GOL, formerly Great Offshore, reportedly went into the process of liquidation following a court case brought by creditor banks in May. A sheriff in Aberdeen allowed the vessel to be sold to recoup the unpaid wages which total £670,000.

There were reports of interest from potential buyers all over the world ahead of the auction in Aberdeen yesterday. If the vessel had been successfully sold, the Indian crew would have been paid within two weeks of the sale, allowing them to return home to their families.

Six crew members did go home earlier this month, while the remaining six decided to stay until the ship was sold.

Malaviya Seven chief officer Bamadev Swain previously told BBC Scotland: “My daughter keeps asking every now and then: ‘When is papa coming back?’ It’s very difficult.”

The Malaviya Seven was previously known as the Northern Clipper and was built in 1994 in Norway. She was said to be in excellent condition and the estimated sale price was between £800,000 and £1m.

The only bid yesterday, however, was for just £300,000, less than half of what the crew members are owed. Auctioneer Dominic Daly thus had to withdraw the vessel from auction and said he would negotiate with the sole bidder to see if he could raise the offer.

Taking the public auction back to a private sale, Daly said: “That party [the bidder] can increase his bid if he likes. Hopefully he’ll increase it to a level that may be acceptable.”

He said that other parties could also make representations in the private negotiations.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency continues to work closely with the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) super-union – it has 700 member unions globally representing 16 million workers in 150 countries – which initiated the arrest of the ship and has raised the case with MPs.

ITF inspector Liam Wilson, who has assisted the crew since the union’s routine inspection uncovered the situation, said the remaining six would be “downhearted”, but added: “It’s not over, it’s just the start.”

It was reported in India last month that 100 staff at the firm’s head offices in Mumbai were also owed many months’ back pay.

The oil and gas industry and the people of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire have rallied round the crew. The crew were recently the guests of Peterhead FC at a match with Annan Athletic.

Wilson recently said: “We’ve been helping these men since the beginning, particularly with their basic needs such as food and water, while working to recover the money that is due to them. I’d like to thank the local community and seafarers’ welfare organisations for their support too.”