Stolt-Kikyo

The continued special focus on underpaid seafarers calling at Australia by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has snared another shipowner. The ITF reports that the Chinese seafarers onboard the Stolt Kikyo parcel tanker (built 1998; 11,545 dwt), which berthed in Tasmania’s Davenport this morning, are owed wages for two months and have not received coastal trading payments required under Australian law. The 24 crew are owed around A$250,000 in missing wages, the ITF said. The ITF has been running a campaign to keep Australian seafarers working in Australian waters, something that Canberra is keen to change. The ship is now moored a short distance from the Australian-manned Alexander Spirit, which has remained in Devonport for more than a week after the crew were sacked, to be replaced with with what the ITF claims are cheap foreign workers on $2 per hour. The Liberian flagged Stolt Kikyo is owned by a joint venture between Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Stolt-Nielsen. For NYK, the Stolt Kikyo is the latest embarrassing setback in Australia. Source: http://splash247.com/nyk-stolt-tanker-hit-by-unpaid-wage-claims/