A foreign-flagged ship carrying Australian coal has been detained at Port Kembla amid an investigation into allegations of crew mistreatment and a lack of food supplies aboard the vessel.
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Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) inspectors boarded the Anna-Elisabeth, a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, on Tuesday after concerns were raised by maritime unions.
Complaints were made by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) on behalf of crew members aboard the cargo ship, which docked at Port Kembla on Sunday.
"The complaints relate to insufficient food supplies aboard the ship and mistreatment of the crew," an AMSA statement said. "AMSA inspectors are attending the vessel to investigate the claims and conduct a Port State Control inspection."
According to AMSA, a Port State Control inspection involves checking the ship has valid certificates and documentation, ensuring it is complying with the certificates, and checking the overall conditions of the ship, equipment and its crew.
ITF national coordinator Dean Summers boarded the vessel about 4pm on Monday, two hours before it was due to set sail for Singapore, after being told "the crew were not being fed correctly, that they weren't provided with shore leave and the captain was bullying them".
"I found the captain abusive and very angry. I eventually convinced him to show me the ship's stores and there wasn't enough food on board for 17 men for the next 14 days," Mr Summers told the Mercury.
"All up, there should have been enough food for 700 meals and there most certainly was not.
"The meat, that is the fish and the red meat, that was there was freezer-burnt and not fit for human consumption, and there wasn't enough fruit and vegetables."
Mr Summers claimed none of the seafarers - made up of a Russian captain, Ukranian officers, and Fiilpino and Sri Lankan ratings - had been allowed ashore.
"The last time anybody had been off that ship was more than two months ago, so that was of big concern for us. The seafarers have an international right to get shore leave," he said.
"The way the captain was behaving was of big concern because he ... hadn't had a day off for six months and that is a dangerous situation."
Mr Summers said he understood the German company operating the vessel, Johann MK Blumenthal, had instructed the captain to get more food after his inspection.
"We know this company very well," he said.
"We have information that there are at least three other occasions over the past number of weeks where their ships have been found in Europe not to be feeding their crew correctly."
Blumenthal was contacted for comment.