Coal ship at NCIG detained by Australian Maritime Safety Authority after concerns raised about unpaid wages and refusal to let seafarers ashore in Newcastle | UPDATED

"The vessel has been detained under the Maritime Labour Convention for unpaid wages," AMSA told the Newcastle Herald today.

"It will be released once the deficiency has been addressed in full by the Orient Line Corp, Japan."

AMSA put the shortfall at $108,000, while the International Transport Federation (ITF) had a slightly higher figure of $US75,000 or about $116,000.

"Failure to pay seafarers their wages on time and in full is a gross and unacceptable breach of the Maritime Labour Convention," AMSA said.During the inspection, AMSA found evidence that crew had not been paid approximately AUD$108,000

AMSA said its inspectors boarded the vessel yesterday for "a routine port state control inspection" and to investigate a complaint from the ITF.

"During the inspection, AMSA found evidence the crew had not been paid approximately $108,000," AMSA said.

"AMSA surveyors also found that the majority of the crew contracts had a salary amount less than the collective agreement for the vessel.

"The vessels senior officers' contracts had the correct amount as specified by the collective agreement.

The ship was immediately detained for this serious breach of the Maritime Labour Convention, which upholds seafarers basic rights to decent working and living conditions.

"The operator [Orient Line Corp. Japan] is required to take steps to ensure all seafarers onboard are paid in full before the ship will be released from detention.

"AMSA takes seafarer welfare extremely seriously and investigates every complaint made by crews on vessels operating in Australia."

FEDERAL authorities have detained a coal ship in Newcastle over on-board conditions including an allegation its Filipino crew are owed $US75,000 in back pay and that some have not been off the vessel in almost 11 months.

International Transport Federation (ITF) co-ordinator Ian Bray said the vessel, the Costanza, had been detained on Wednesday at the Kooragang 10 wharf operated by coal loader company Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group (NCIG).

Mr Bray said the $75,000 was largely made up of a 20 per cent shortfall in the wages paid to about 21 crew for August, September and October.

NSW Port Authority vessel movements show the Costanza as due to leave Newcastle today with a load of coal bound for the Japanese port city of Hitachinaka, but Mr Bray said it had been identified as having three "detainable offences" under the Maritime Labour Convention, and that it would not be leaving Newcastle until these were rectified.

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Although the ITF is a union-dominated organisation, it has global reach and has historically worked closely with the main federal waterfront agency, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).

AMSA had no immediate comment when contacted last night`

Mr Bray was in Perth, but ITF inspector Dan Crumlin said he had been to the wharf to see the crew yesterday.

"The ITF has just put out the Robbed At Sea report, which looks at the endemic theft of wages from seafarers in Australian waters," Mr Crumlin said.

"Sadly, 30 years after Peter Morris, in Newcastle, initiated the Ships of Shame report, the evidence is that things are just as bad as they were back then."

Mr Bray said COVID era restrictions that had stopped seafarers going ashore in many countries during the pandemic had been lifted in Australia almost three months ago.

"There's people on that vessel who we believe have not been off in about ten and a half months," Mr Bray said.

"We're looking into why the crew of the Costanza believed - or were told - that shore leave was still banned in Newcastle, when it's not the case.

"We took our findings to AMSA as is the procedure and they have upheld our view and detained the Costanza until those wages are paid."

NCIG confirmed last night that the ship had been detained by AMSA, but a spokesperson disputed the ITF's account of events.

The spokesperson said Mr Crumlin had arrived at the loader wharf "unannounced" on Tuesday.

They said Mr Crumlin had not been "hampered" but it took some 90 minutes before his credentials could be confirmed, allowing him entry onboard, even though NCIG believed the ITF had not informed the "master" of the ship, who was the person in control.

The NCIG spokesperson denied NCIG had been aware of any allegedly underpaid wages, and said they could not comment on matters that were the province of either the shipping or cargo agents.

Mr Bray said Philippines labour hire laws for international workers required that 80 per cent of wages are repatriated to the Philippines in "home allotments".

"It's the other 20 per cent, the amount that stays with the crew, that has not been paid for August, September and October.

"There's also a shortfall in the wages paid and the prescribed amounts to be paid in accordance with the ships collective agreement. These shortfalls are for as long as each seafarer on board has been there."

Mr Bray said Robbed At Sea showed wage theft on visiting ships to Australia averaged $65 million a year for the past 10 years.

He said a small team of just five Australian inspectors was on track to recover $US7 million ($10 million) from about 550 inspections this year, or just under a tenth of the vessels visiting Australian ports.

The Robbed At Sea report says: "On average, a typical wage recovery request involves $11,500 in back payments.

"A typical freight vessel is crewed by 21 seafarers, and so those payments on average work out to approximately $500 per affected seafarer.

"This may seem relatively insignificant to many Australians, but for seafarers from poor countries who strive to save as much of their earnings as possible to support their families at home, these recovery payments can be very important.

"And given the very low base levels of compensation paid in this industry, any underpayment is unjustified and morally repugnant."

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