Crew refuses to leave harbour until they are paid for past four months

CREW members of a Latvian-registered ship have refused to move from the quay wall of Greenore harbour until they are paid the salaries which have been withheld from them for the past four months.

The 11 Latvian crew, including the captain of the Fortuna I, are striking because they are owed four months arrears in pay.

According to Ken Fleming, of SIPTU and the Irish Transport Federation (ITF), the 2,000 tonne bulk freighter is carrying 1,750 tonnes of steel bars for a Galway-based importer which supplies manufacturing and construction companies.