Crew members on board a ship which was recently detained in Dublin Port for non-payment of wages have barricaded themselves inside the vessel three miles off the English coast in a fresh protest over not being paid money owed to them.
The workers on the Merchant Brilliant claim they are owed €150,000 in pay by the owner of the ship, Russian company ADG Shipping.
The International Transport Federation, which exposed the apparent anomaly, says it will make an application to the British authorities to have the boat detained today.
Siptu president Jack O'Connor and the general secretary of the British National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Bob Crow said the situation was a "disgrace" and "further evidence of the race to the bottom that is occurring in sectors of the labour market".
Mr O'Connor said: "This is further evidence of the need for proper controls in the maritime industry. We have a situation here where gross exploitation is taking place in one of the most vital economic sectors for an island economy and the only beneficiaries are the owners and operators of these vessels."
Norfolkline, charterers of the Merchant Brilliant, said yesterday it had decided to suspend the hire of the vessel until the dispute was resolved. It said that as as a charterer it did not have responsibility for the crewing or technical management of the vessel. However, in a statement it said it took the issues extremely seriously.
The firm said talks between ADG and the ITF were ongoing and that it was hopeful of a fair and satisfactory conclusion. ADG, meanwhile, was unavailable for comment yesterday.