The crew of a Latvian-owned ship docked in Cork is refusing to sail the vessel out of the city in a dispute over pay.
The crew of the MV Defenderhave not received any pay since they began working on the vessel and are owed almost $100,000 (€79,900).
Ken Fleming, an inspector with the International Transport Federation said the outlook was looking bleak for the nine crew members, as the company could decide to abandon the ship.
“As a last resort we will seek an arrest, which will involve going to the High Court to have the ship detained and then sold to pay the workers the money owed to them,” he added.
The crew of seven Ukrainians and two Russians has been working on the ship for periods ranging from 18 days to seven months, and “have received no pay, not even pocket money”, according to Mr Fleming.
The ship, which came into port in Cork with a cargo of timber yesterday, is owned by Forestry Shipping in Latvia. It was involved in a similar dispute less than a year ago.