An ill crew member of a Russian cargo vessel which has been tied up at Waterford harbour since June 22nd is to be repatriated to Ukraine today after spending the last six days at Waterford Regional Hospital.
Mr Sergel Niko Layerko was said by a hospital spokeswoman to be "in good shape" when he was discharged on Wednesday. He was understood to be anxious to return home as his mother was ill. However, otherwise there was little movement in the situation. Eight of Mr Layerko's 15 fellow crew members on the Firyuza are still in dispute with the Moscow-based company, Olmar Shipping, which owns the vessel. They have not been paid since April and mutinied on June 24th when they refused to sail to Spain.
Negotiations between a senior company representative who arrived from Moscow last Monday and SIPTU's industrial official for the south-east region, Mr Tony Ayton, who is representing the crew on behalf of the International Transport Federation, continued yesterday. However, progress was slow, Mr Ayton said. While both parties were said to be near full agreement on Monday, this was no longer the case. "It's like a see-saw," he said.
The company had agreed to pay some $13,000 in outstanding wages next week, but Mr Ayton said the crew had little confidence that they would be paid. The crew had made "very serious allegations" of intimidation against the company, said Mr Ayton.