Ship held after crew protest at living conditions

By PATRICK GOWER and AINSLEY THOMSON

A container ship is being held in Auckland with some of its crew ordered to leave the vessel because of living conditions the Maritime Safety Authority says are substandard.

Inspectors searching Golden Trader found that crew members were sleeping on mattresses on concrete decks while the vessel was docked and undergoing a refit.

The crew, mainly Filipinos, had complained to a chaplain at the Seafarers Mission on Tuesday night, alleging that the ship was infested with cockroaches.

The Rev Bill Law complained to the authority on the men's behalf yesterday morning about the standard of crew accommodation.

Authority duty manager John Mansell said the ship was "effectively detained".

It would not be allowed to sail unless conditions improved.

"We found the cabins had been stripped right out and they were living in what we considered to be substandard conditions," he told the Herald last night.

"The crew were sleeping on a mattress on the concrete deck, which doesn't meet any international standards at all.

"The cabins are being upgraded, but they were expected to live in them while this was going on."

Mr Mansell said the authority "imposed conditions" under the Maritime Transport Act to say the crew must be housed ashore until the accommodation on the ship met international standards.

"It's a power we have under the act that is very useful in requiring shipowners or masters to meet international standards for crew accommodation."

The company that manages the ship, Maritime Resource Management, was surprised by the move.

"I fell out of my chair when I heard it," spokesman Captain Villy Raki said last night.

"Obviously there is equipment everywhere and furniture removed, because the ship is being upgraded to almost a five-star standard."

Captain Raki said a rival shipping firm might be behind the allegations.

"There is a lot of competitive animosity in this industry. Very often when people want to delay a ship, they ring up and complain about the crew conditions or fire safety. It happens in other countries too."

The company is responsible for employment of the crew and on-board services and conditions.

A Herald reporter was invited aboard the 11-year-old ship last night after Captain Raki said the company "had nothing to hide".

He said that crew had been sleeping on concrete floors, but "out of choice". The ship was fumigated for cockroaches in November.

The Herald was shown cabins that been completed as well as ones that were partially done.

The finished cabins had timber flooring, new furniture and each had a renovated blue and white bathroom. While not luxurious, the cabins were spacious and functional.

The half-completed cabins were fitted with worn orange furniture and the bathrooms needed repair.

These cabins were being refitted. Floors had been pulled up and furniture was missing.

The Golden Trader docked last Thursday for the refit and is not due to sail until February 1.

The authority will check then that crew conditions are up to standard before it is allowed to sail.

Captain Raki said only nine of the 35 crew had been moved ashore. The others remained aboard in accommodation unaffected by the refit.

The ship is owned by a company called Pacific Direct Lines and sails under the flag of the St Vincent and the Grenadine Islands in the Caribbean. It travels regularly between New Zealand and Tahiti, carrying mainly cement and containers.

Mr Mansell said the authority had technically not detained the ship under the act, although its actions had the same effect.

He said the authority detained between 10 and 20 ships in New Zealand ports each year for breaches of international conventions or safety or health problems. It "imposed conditions" in five to 10 cases where detention was not appropriate.

The Golden Trader is the second vessel being held at a New Zealand port. At Nelson, a foreign-flagged fishing vessel, the Contec II, remains in port after inspection several months ago.

About 1000 foreign-flagged vessels are routinely inspected out of the 2500 that visit each year, with others vetted after specific complaints, as with the Golden Trader.

nzherald.co.nz/marine