TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Eight Indonesian workers who spent the past eight months on a ship in Kaohsiung harbor were allowed to disembark Friday (Oct. 28) before returning home.

The Jian Ye, a cargo vessel registered in Togo, lost power during rough weather on its way from Taiwan to South Korea, and was towed into Kaohsiung in February to prevent pollution. However, the crew members were unable to move ashore until a replacement crew could arrive.

After the Maritime and Port Bureau found two Taiwanese to replace them and join one Chinese worker still on board, the Indonesian crew members were allowed to leave the Jian Ye on  Friday. They will take a flight from Kaohsiung to the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Saturday (Oct. 29), CNA reported.

After Taiwan opened its borders to foreign arrivals on Oct. 13, the authorities had originally recruited eight people in Myanmar to work on the Jian Ye, but because of a number of problems with their documents, the new workers were unable to complete their visa applications on time.

During February’s storm, the ship had anchored off Keelung, but its anchor cable snapped, sending the Jian Ye adrift. The ship was in waters near Penghu when the Maritime and Port Bureau took over the vessel.

During its stay in Kaohsiung, the ship’s owner, Hong Kong-based Cheung Fat Shipping Co., Ltd., abandoned the crew due to financial problems, leaving them without food or money. The authorities called in a charity group and the Indonesian representative office in Taipei for assistance.