The crew of a Russian ship berthed in the Waterford port of Bellvue since Tuesday have mutinied, saying that they have not been paid since the beginning of April.
The 18-strong crew walked off the Firyuza at lunchtime yesterday after the captain gave an order to sail to Spain. The ship is carrying animal feed.
SIPTU's industrial official for the south-east, Mr Tony Ayton, who is representing the crew on behalf of the International Trade Federation, said conditions on the ship were very bad and one seriously ill crew member had been put off the vessel in Gibraltar before it sailed for Ireland.
"They would be terribly uncomfortable setting sail for Spain," he said. "They're thinking that the destination would be changed to India or Pakistan, where they would not have the same level of union representation."
Mr Ayton spent 1 1/2 hours in discussions with the Moscow company Ommar, which owns the ship, yesterday. "They didn't dispute the fact that the money was owed," he said.
The crew claim that they are owed $18,227 (£13,773) in wages. The company said it would pay the crew when it was paid some £600,000 it was owed by debtors.
The crew walked off the ship to avoid a confrontation with the ship's officers, who also had not been paid, said Mr Ayton.
