The crew members of m/v Pacific Ray have got their money

Eight crew members of m/v “Pacific Ray”, owned by a foreign company Northwest Ship Management ltd., have obtained payment of wage arrears with the assistance of Vasily Savelyev, the lawyer of the Far Eastern Territorial Organization of the Seafarers' Union of Russia. He advised the crew members and helped to draw up applications to the transport prosecutor's office - the documents became the basis of the statement of claim.

The other day it became known that the Frunzensky District Court of Vladivostok, Primorsky region, and the Nakhodka City Court of Primorsky region satisfied the demands of the prosecutor in six lawsuits. At present the rulings have actually been executed and wage arrears for a total amount of more than $20,000 have been repaid in full.

– It is noteworthy that right after the ruling was made, two more seafarers who had worked for this company and asked for help from the SUR FETO with similar problems received their money: the shipowner voluntarily paid the debt  about $4,000, – Nikolay Sukhanov, SUR FETO Chairman, said. 

He stressed that the Northwest Ship Management ltd had  been in the field of view of law enforcement agencies for a long time, as seafarers working on board its vessels, often apply for assistance.

Indeed, this is not the first time that «Pacific Ray» crew members have not received their wages on time. Earlier complaints on the matter were repeatedly received both by the prosecutor's office and the Far Eastern Territorial Organization of SUR. In particular, at the beginning of 2022 a ship's cook whom the employer owed $1544,3 for the period of work from October to November 2021 applied to  SUR FETO. According to Mr. Sukhanov, that time the seafarer managed to get his money back largely due to the meeting of the trade union representatives  with officials  of the Nakhodka transport prosecutor’s office. At the meeting, which took place on December 21, 2021, the SUR FETO representatives asked prosecutors to take strict measures against the unscrupulous shipowner. 

Nikolay Sukhanov emphasized that largely due to the joint efforts of the trade union and the transport prosecutor's office it became easier to tackle  the problems of seafarers working on ships under a foreign flag. 

-We remind that  there are always some  troubles with m/v Pacific Ray, - he added, - In addition to problems with payment  wages there were complaints concerning food supplies. Moreover, the employer put pressure on seafarers: once it came to assault. The crew members reported to the union about technical deficiencies on board, due to which Engineers and Oilers had to work 15-20 hours a day for several weeks. 

The Seafarers' Union of Russia advises to avoid employment on ships operated by Northwest Ship Management ltd. – m/v «Pacific Ray» and m/v «Atlantic Ray»: the rights of the crews are still violated.