Thousands of passengers stranded as shipping services come to halt.

The Lakshadweep Development Corporation operates 24 ships and barges, including some passengers vessels, -- M V Bharat Seema, M V Kavaratti, M V Minicoy, M V Lakshadweep, M V Amindivi and M V Arabian Sea. The inter island connectivity has also been affected.

The services have been hit after ship crew unions went on strike demanding at first the termination of the services of the Marine supertendent for alleged dereliction of duty after the death of a crew due to cardiac arrest.

A helsman of M V Bharatseema, Shameem Ali Yosuf, had died of cardiac arrest on friday last after the ship had anchored here. The relatives and crew complained that the Lakshadweep Development council, under which Bharat Seema and at least 8 other passenger vessels are there, had not taken care of the deceased and had failed to be present when the body was taken for post moretm.

Meanwhile, stranded passengers went on a dharna in front of the LDCL office here demanding subsistence allowance. Maritime Union of India leader Mohammed Haneef said the ship's operator had the responsbility to take the body of the crew home and carry out related formalities.

Though the Lakshadweep adminsitrator J K Dadoo held several rounds of discussions with the striking crew, a solution failed to materialise.