Four years at sea, now just metres from shore: 'living hell' of stranded UAE ship

Five seafarers are stuck in limbo on a beached tanker after a long, terrifying ordeal of abandonment

Tourists are more accustomed to seeing kite surfers or kayaks off the idyllic coast of Umm Al Quwain, in the United Arab Emirates. But today they have gathered on sun loungers to sip coffee and gaze at the unusual sight of a 5,000-ton oil tanker grounded on the sand.

For the crew inside the Panama-flagged MT Iba, however, being grounded on the beach marks another harrowing chapter in an almost four-year ordeal at sea.