Latvian ship held in dispute over wages

A LATVIAN ship with nine crew was detained yesterday in Cork harbour after it was alleged the crew had not been paid since January. Those who had been paid were believed to have been given as little as €1 per hour.

Customs officials are also investigating the discovery of 6,000 cartons of eastern European-branded cigarettes, valued at €45,000, which are thought to have been for the Irish market. The Defender is owned by Forrestry Shipping based in Riga, Latvia, but registered in Cambodia. Its official cargo was timber.

Ken Fleming of the International Transport Federation (ITF) said he had been tracking the vessel for the past two weeks after his colleagues in the Russian ITF had tipped him off. The previous captain had put in a wages claim for $15,000 (€9,500).