Port authorities detain ship which owes crew €80,000 in unpaid wages

THE Latvian ship, Defender, the owners of which owe its nine Russian and Ukrainian crew more than e80,000 in unpaid wages, has been detained by Port State Control in Cork harbour over manning irregularities.

According to the Irish Transport Federation, the Port State Control (PSC) yesterday found the ship was not implementing a safe code of watchkeeping while at sea and it also had concerns over ration levels on the boat.

The ship arrived into Passage West harbour earlier this week carrying a cargo of timber. The ITF sought the arrest of the Defender after receiving a tip-off from onboard that the crew were owed thousands of euro. The ship moved to Cork while the situation was being investigated.

It was the second time in less than a year that the Defender had come to the attention of the ITF. Last year its owners, Forestry Shipping in Riga, were forced to pay e58,000 in unpaid wages to four crew members.

This time round some of the men are owed up to six months’ wages. The captain alone is owed more than e30,000.

The ITF believes it will be Friday at least before independent officials can train the ship’s crew on the safety code, at which point PSC may let the Defender sail. However, the crew, who have signed over power of attorney to Ken Fleming of the ITF, are refusing to sail until they are paid wages owed to them by Forestry Shipping.

If the Defender is released by PSC on Friday, Mr Fleming will seek an arrest warrant for the vessel from the High Court in Dublin. If that happens he is likely to sell the ship in order to recoup the monies owed to the men as well as any repatriation and compensation costs.

The Ukrainian Embassy is expected to visit the ship on Friday and is likely to share the cost of any legal action in order to ensure the sailors are paid all that is owed to them from the proceeds of the boat sale.