According to the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) the Lia M was detained by the Canadian authorities.
The ITF said crew complaints included, “Unpaid wages, a ‘collective bargaining agreement’ that lacked the vessel name, a date or a wage scale; crew with no money, no shampoo, toothpaste or other items; a crew member who had twice been refused access to a doctor; and crew members having been forced to sign blank contracts.”
Following the detention by Port State Control the vessel is now compliant with the MLC. It is the second vessel detained under the MLC, which came into force on 20 August. The OSV Ocean Carrier was detained in Denmark last week also for not having seafarer employment contracts.
The move to detain ships as soon as the MLC came into force has caused concern for shipowners and managers who had called for a period where warnings would be given rather than detentions.
The unions, however, are targeting non-compliance with the convention. “These detentions should be a wake up call to shipowners who are not complying with the MLC, and a further reminder to those countries who haven’t yet ratified of why they need to,” said ITF seafarers’ section chair Dave Heindel.
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