U.S. Gets Permission to Seize Problem-Plagued Cargo Ship

In an attempt to secure at least $75,000 in back wages for the crew of the battered Fotini, a federal magistrate Friday issued a warrant allowing federal marshals to seize the Greek-owned cargo ship, which the Coast Guard has detained as unsafe in Long Beach Harbor.

Philip Monrad, an attorney for the International Transport Workers’ Federation, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in an attempt to secure the “arrest” of the ship until the crew’s labor dispute with the owner can be resolved.

Maritime law provides for the seizure of vessels in U.S. waters if there are indications that a ship’s owner is not complying with the crew’s labor contract. Once a case is filed, the court can issue an arrest warrant, which allows the U.S. Marshals Office to seize the vessel and keep it in port. That is what federal magistrate Margaret Nagel did Friday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

Federal marshals said Friday night that they will board the ship and serve the arrest warrants when they receive them.

Under the ship’s labor contract, the typical mariner aboard the Fotini is supposed to be paid about $1,200 a month including benefits.

But, federation officials say, 19 crew members have only received about half their wages, some for as long as a year. The officials also say welders on board are underpaid.

“We have received total noncooperation from the attorneys for the company,” said Rudy Vanderhider, a federation inspector. “They have refused to let our lawyer on board, though the contract calls for it. They just don’t want to do anything right by the crew.”

Representatives of Athens-based World Carrier Corp. could not be reached for comment despite repeated telephone calls from The Times.

Coast Guard officials detained the heavily rusted Fotini two weeks ago after inspectors uncovered deplorable living conditions and a host of problems that threatened the safety and seaworthiness of the vessel.

The long list of deficiencies included polluted drinking water, rotten food, overcrowded living quarters, broken navigation equipment, a leaky hold, an inoperable lifeboat, and hatch covers to all the cargo holds that were frozen open.

World Carrier must repair the ship to meet minimum international standards before the vessel can leave Long Beach, where it has been at anchor since Oct. 2.

Coast Guard officials say that if the situation becomes too costly for the company, the vessel might be abandoned at the port.

Federation representatives said Friday that working conditions have been so bad that many of the crew want off the ship.

Under the vessel’s contract, the owner must repatriate the crew at company expense if the ship does not comply with international standards. Most of the seafarers on the Fotini are Filipino and Pakistani.

So far, five crew members have been removed from the ship for medical treatment at Pacific Hospital in Long Beach. According to federation officials, four of them have now fled instead of returning to the ship.

“These guys are demoralized and scared to death,” Vanderhider said. “You can see it in their faces. They don’t want to sail on her.”

Federation attorney Monrad said the situation on the Fotini is one of the worst he has heard about. He said he tried to get aboard Thursday morning but was turned away in apparent violation of the ship’s labor contract.

Once federal marshals have taken control of the vessel, it will be turned over to a private ship-keeper hired by the transport workers’ federation.

The action gives the federation the ability to sell the vessel to pay off the crew’s claims should negotiations with the owner fail.

“From the tactics the company has used, we have to do this,” said Monrad, a labor law specialist based in the Bay Area. “We are ready to go all the way.”