MUA warns of fuel security, wage and environmental issues as Australian tankers run out of work
Teekay Shipping has survived another standoff with one of its own fuel tanker crews.
The Hugli Spirit is now sailing towards Singapore with 36 Australian crew members on board, having left Cairns Port a day behind schedule yesterday.
Maritime Union of Australia assistant national secretary Warren Smith says crew was advised that the tanker would no longer be operating on the fuel supply route around North Queensland.
He understands the run will be serviced by foreign-flagged ships after the Hugli Spirit lease expires in March.
“In recent weeks, the crew of the Hugli Spirit have learnt that the ship will be removed from service and replaced with foreign vessels, with crew on as little as $2 an hour,” Smith says, adding that there are also fuel security and environmental issues arising from the changeover.
“Conditions on board [the foreign vessels] are likely to be far below first world standards and we know that environmental safeguards could be all but non-existent.”
The Australian crew conducted a sit-in protest on board the Hugli Spirit on Sunday, but later relinquished its hold, allowing it to sail on to Singapore. It comes just a few months after a similar, longer protest on another Teekay Shipping tanker, the Tandara Spirit.