Sea-sick sailors pleased to fly

Six Indonesian sailors flew from New Zealand yesterday, glad to be going home after a nightmarish experience on board a Korean ship.

The crew got off the Wisteria when it berthed in Nelson on Wednesday after months working in what they said were "very bad conditions".

One sailor, second officer Rasena Sutopo, said yesterday they had to put up with bad food and frequent shortages of water.

They were also grateful to the International Transport Workers Federation for negotiating for them to be paid about $33,000 in owed wages, he said.

The six men were among about 19 crew on the Wisteria, owned by the Korean firm Hanjoo Shipping.

Mr Sutopo said Korean crew members were treated well, but the Indonesian, Burmese and Chinese crew were discriminated against.

He said the main problem was the previous captain, who was sacked about a month ago.

The replacement captain was good, but the Indonesians had decided to leave the ship anyway because the food was still bad and they were still being underpaid.

International Transport Workers' Federation co-ordinator Kathy Whelan described the crew's living quarters as a "mess".

But she commended Hanjoo Shipping for acknowledging the problems and paying the Indonesians' back pay.

Hanjoo's New Zealand shipping agents, Beacon Chartering and Shipping, said the company had acted to improve conditions on the Wisteria.

Ms Whelan said the case highlighted the need for owners to be held accountable, rather than being able to hide behind "flags of convenience".

The Wisteria sails under the Panamanian flag.

- NZPA

Further reading: nzherald.co.nz/marine