By Farah Master

HONG KONG, April 15 (Reuters) – Captain Valerie Lyzhyn and his 45 crew are stranded in Hong Kong, huge losers in a playing droop triggered by a Chinese crackdown on corruption that has scared off the high-rollers.

Lyzhyn, 62, a Russian-born Ukrainian and veteran seaman, and his colleagues, refuse to depart their 140 meter (460 foot) on line casino cruiser the New Imperial Star till they get the six months of pay they are saying they’re owed.

Hong Kong’s Marine Department has impounded the ship as a result of what it known as “serious deficiencies” discovered throughout an inspection.

Rations are working low, the ship’s house owners can’t be reached and the cobalt blue felt overlaying the 16 baccarat tables is gathering mud.

“There’s one egg per crew member per day,” Lyzhyn informed Reuters onboard the ship, which is moored a brief barge trip away from a bustling port in jap Hong Kong.

Breakfast was significantly depressing: “No sausages, no bacon, no milk, nothing.”

Hong Kong’s on line casino cruises flourished alongside the world’s greatest playing hub of Macau, throughout the mouth of the Pearl River from Hong Kong, till 2014.

It was then that Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a wide-reaching anti-graft marketing campaign, snaring officers and highly effective businessmen who had used Macau as a money playground.

The gamblers have been steering clear.

“Really, business has gone down,” Lyzhyn mentioned, wearing a tan uniform with gold and black lapels.

“One year ago we had 200 passengers, before we stopped operating we had only 50.”

CONVOLUTED OWNERSHIP

Lyzhyn mentioned the ship was detained in October final yr after the house owners didn’t pay upkeep charges and in consequence, it didn’t cross its inspections.

The crew is ready to be paid salaries totaling $400,000, he mentioned.

He mentioned he didn’t know who the ship’s house owners had been nevertheless it was managed by an organization known as Sky Wheel Limited.

Phone numbers for Sky Wheel didn’t work whereas Sea Hawk Asia, the ship’s earlier supervisor, mentioned it was not capable of touch upon the state of affairs.

Prior to 2014, there have been 12 on line casino ships working out of Hong Kong however Lyzhyn mentioned that quantity has plunged to 4.

The cruises sometimes decide up passengers on the teeming Tsim Sha Tsui pier in Hong Kong’s Kowloon district and set sail at 8 p.m. for worldwide waters, returning to Hong Kong 12 hours later, after an evening of playing.

The boats are largely owned by Macau junket corporations which make use of convoluted possession constructions with a number of buyers.

On the New Imperial Star, flies buzz across the kitschy chandeliers and the crew of 20 Ukrainians, 18 from Myanmar and eight Chinese can solely wait. They could also be there some time but.

Lyzhyn mentioned he hoped Hong Kong authorities would formally impound the ship in two weeks after which a authorized course of would begin which he hoped would finish, after just a few months, with him and his crew being paid. (Additinal reporting by James Pomfret, Venus Wu, Stefanie McIntyre; Tris Pan; Editing by Robert Birsel)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016.