Inspectors from the International Transport Workers' Federation were yesterday refused permission to board an Irish Ferries vessel stranded for the last five days at Pembroke dock in Wales.
Federation convener for Britain and Ireland Norrie McVicar said last night that the refusal by Pembroke port authorities to allow inspectors to visit union members on the Isle of Inishmore was in breach of international labour agreements. Pembroke is a privately owned port and Irish Ferries is its sole client for scheduled, passenger and freight services.
The federation is an umbrella body for transport unions around the world.
A senior manager at Irish Ferries said at the weekend the company had no relationship with the federation.
Another federation inspector was refused access to an Irish Ferries vessel, the Ulysses, in Holyhead.
The Isle of Inishmore and the Ulysses have been stranded in the Welsh ports since last Thursday because of standoffs between the crews and the company, which started when Irish Ferries sent security personnel on board both ships.
Agency staff from eastern Europe later arrived on the two vessels for "familiarisation" programmes. The company plans to replace existing staff who have accepted voluntary redundancy with these agency staff.
Four engineering officers have barricaded themselves in the control room of the Isle of Inishmore since Thursday.
The officers told The Irish Times yesterday they were not eating much and were sleeping on the floor, using spare uniforms as bedding. However, they were determined to continue their protest. While they remain in the control room, from where many of the ship's key functions are managed, the vessel cannot leave port.
It was also reported yesterday that one of the security guards brought on board the Isle of Inishmore by Irish Ferries on Thursday stopped the night master - a senior officer on the vessel - while he was on watch over the weekend and asked for his identity.
Staff on the ship yesterday said the issue made a nonsense of assurances given by the company that security personnel were under the control of senior officers.
In a separate development a British transport union yesterday called on the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency to investigate the role of security guards on board both vessels.
The leader of the Rail Maritime and Transport Workers' Union, Bob Crow, also called for the handling of the dispute by Irish Ferries to be investigated.