Crewmen of ship detained in NZ get money after months with no pay

Detained Lancelot V’s crew includes Filipinos. SHIPSPOTTING PHOTO

SAN FRANCISCO — The crew of a ship detained at the Port of Tauranga in New Zealand, mainly Russian, Ukrainian and Filipino, have finally received some money after not being paid for some months. They have also been given temporary visas, allowing them to go ashore.

Lancelot V, a Greek-owned and Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier, has been detained in the port for three weeks on behalf of its charterers for breach of contract. Maritime New Zealand also detained the ship when its annual classification certificates expired, according to a report by radio.nz.co.nz. Also, an inspection in Auckland before the ship sailed for Tauranga exposed defects in several of its cranes.

International Transport Workers’ Federation New Zealand Inspector Grahame McLaren said the crew had been virtual prisoners on board Lancelot V. While conditions on board have been okay, McLaren said there had been food shortages sometimes. He said $US23,000 were recently obtained as interim wages to help the crew out. While living on board, the men are now free to come and go.

Mr McLaren said the federation was trying to get repatriation for the men back to their home countries and back-pay estimated to be over $US100,000. The ship’s owners are reportedly negotiating in London with the charterers, but McLaren said the ship would not be going anywhere until the crewmen were paid and the ones who wanted to go home were able to do so.

He said the men were being paid well below International Labour Organisation minimum of $US1,000 per month. McLaren said his federation was able to push their wages up to about $US1,800.

Like us on Facebook