On July 11, the Australian authorities has banned a Shipping bulker for 12 months for deliberately underpaying the crew.
What happened?
On 7 July, the vessel ‘Shandong Hai Wang’ was enroute to Gladstone when it was intercepted by AMSA surveyors. The surveyors discovered that the crew members working onboard the vessel were deliberately underpaid by AUD 56,000 based on their employment agreements.
Based on these allegations, the vessel was detained for violating Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) and was released on July 12 after it paid the crew members its due wages.
Banned in Australia
Even after the vessel was released, the Australian authorities banned the vessel from calling on the Australian ports for 12 months.
It is the fourth vessel this year that has been banned from Australian port for underpaying crew and AMSA warns that the next ship caught doing so will face harsher penalties.
Warning issued by AMSA
AMSA’s General Manager of Operations, Allan Schwartz, “Ships visiting Australian ports are put on notice. The next ship we find deliberately and repeatedly underpaying its crew and attempting to deceive authorities, can expect an even more severe penalty than that handed to the Shandong Hai Wang”.
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Source: Australian Maritime Safety Authority
