Low life on the high seas checked and rectified

A Taiwan-owned fishing vessel was detained at the Colombo Port, after the crew complained of torture and non-payment of wages by the vessel’s owner, maritime and embassy officials said.

The owner, a Taiwan national, who also sails on the boat, is alleged to have beaten and tied up the Indonesian crew members to the boat railings for even the slightest mistakes.

“We boarded the vessel ‘Longyield 2’ with the local authorities and confronted the suspect who was thoroughly warned and allowed to sail out of Colombo Port, Abdullah Zulkisli, First Sec- retary- Indonesian Embassy in Colombo said.

He added that the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) and the police in Taiwan had been alerted to maintain a watch on this vessel.

He said that the Indonesian crew members were also taken off the vessel and sent back home, after all their back wages due to them was settled in full.

The crew on the vessel that included a mix bag of various nationalities, had first complained to the Colombo-based ITF Inspector, Ranjan Perera who later took the matter up with the Embassy.

“We intended to arrest the suspect and detain the vessel, but with the intervention of the Embassy, the matter was settled amicably, with a strong warning to the boat owner,” Mr. Perera added.

Meanwhile, a second fishing vessel, ‘Tawariq 2 also owned by a Taiwan national, was detained after the crew complained of non-payment of wages for nearly a year-and-a-half.

The owner, who was on board, was later ordered to release the wages of the crew, before being allowed to leave Colombo Port, Mr. Perera said.