Sri Lanka's only cargo vessel detained in Durban
The Sri Lankan Sunday Times reports that maritime sources said that the Lanka Mahapola, Sri Lanka's only cargo vessel, has been detained at South Africa's Durban Port in for non-payment of wages to the crew.
The sources said the vessel was detained on May 17 on a directive from a local court following written complaints by several members of the crew that they had not received their wages for two months and that conditions on the ship were poor. 26 crew members are Sri Lankans while the remaining two are Ukrainians.
The vessel is owned by the Ceylon Shipping Corporation and had been leased out to a private company, Triple. S. Shipping, which was responsible for the crew and the cargo on board. It is carrying general cargo had sailed into Durban from the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah. According to the sources the International Transport workers Federation (ITF) was looking after the interests of the crew members through its head office in London. Speaking from Durban, W. T. Wickramaarachchi, a senior official with Triple. S. Shipping told the Sunday Times that the matter would be settled in a day or two and denied any wrong doing by the company.
Wickramaarachchi accused the two Ukrainians of "causing the trouble" while the Lankan crew members, he said, were cooperating with the company. He denied that the company was in arrears of payment to the crew or that conditions on board were poor. However ITF sources in Durban said the bulk of the crew, excluding the officers, had already submitted written complaints - which led to the detention of the ship. They added that most of the crew members were set to sign off once the wages issue was cleared and return to Colombo at the earliest.
Read the full article on www.sundaytimes.lk.
