A crew of six people have been stuck aboard a ship off the Marmara port of Izmit in northwestern Turkey amid a lawsuit between the ship's renter and owner.

The Panama-flagged vessel called Urgence has been anchored off the Eskihisar port since Jan. 7, 2019. Unable to leave the vessel unattended, the crew is desperate for a resolution.

The crew, which includes Turkish, Azerbaijani and Ukrainian sailors, claims their food and water stocks have run out and they have only had pasta to eat for the past month.

They have taken to social media to plead for an expedient resolution to the dispute.

One of the Turkish crew members told Turkish broadcaster NTV that he attempted to go into the port but was not allowed to enter by the port authority and the coast guard.

"I had to return to the ship," he said, without providing additional details.