Violation of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006)

Last week, Wednesday, 16.10.2024, the ship supervision inspectors of the Transport Board detained the vessel "Fortune Star 1" in the port of Paldiski, operating under the flag of convenience of Liberia, owned by the Chinese company Ningbo Huayang Maritime Service Co. Ltd.

The reason for the detention was the complaint of the ship's crew to the inspector of the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) in Estonia and the ship supervision inspectors about non-payment of wages.

The vessel arrived in Estonia on 15 October 2024. The next day, the ITF inspector visited the vessel together with the ship supervision inspectors (PSCO) of the Transport Board. During the inspection it was found that the crew had not been paid their wages for August and September, which is a gross violation of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006). The ship control inspectors also found other inconsistencies.

The ITF inspector also informed the Liberian Maritime Administration, the ship's flag state, and the shipowner about the shortcomings. One of the demands for the ship's release was that the crew's wages be paid in the port of Paldiski in Estonia and only in cash. This is important to ensure that the crew actually receives the money. The claim amounted to 131 thousand euros.

The said amount was delivered to the ship on October 22, and the outstanding wages were paid to the crew under the close supervision of the ITF inspector.

ITF inspector in Estonia Jaanus Kuiv: "Such cases, when the crew's wages are not paid, are becoming less and less common, but they must be responded to immediately and with all due severity. Thanks to the excellent cooperation with the inspectors of the Transport Department (many thanks to inspector Andres Ojakann!) such ships can be detained in our ports and, hopefully, they will not call here again if there is no order on board.”