MV Julia Crew
The International Transport Workers Federation co-ordinator for Ireland and Britain, Ken Fleming, has warned a Dutch based company, Transship Management, that its vessel, the mv Julia, faces arrest if it does not immediately pay $102,700 owed to the crew in unpaid wages. Mr Fleming received a request to assist the crew from the ITF in The Netherlands earlier today after it received a distress call.
On boarding the freighter in Drogheda he discovered that the nine strong East European crew from The Ukraine, Russia and Lithuania had not been paid since May. “We are seeking payment in full of the arrears owed to these men, all but one of whom wants to be repatriated because of the intolerable conditions on the vessel”, Mr Fleming said.
“The company faces a very simple choice, either they transfer the arrears to their local agent for immediate disbursement to the crew or I will be applying to the Admiralty Marshal of the High Court for the ship’s arrest.”
The ship has a consignment of 5,000 tons of cement on board for Belgium “but”, Mr Fleming added, “it will be setting here in Drogheda if the company does not live up to its commitments. The day is long past since this sort of treatment of seafarers was tolerated in Irish ports.”
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