Five remaining crew members have been faraway from the Australian bulk service MV Portland in south-eastern Australia in what maritime unions are describing as a ‘forcible raid’. The removing of the crew marks an abrupt finish to a two-month standoff over the substitute of the ship and firing of its 40 Australian crew.

Up to 30 safety guards boarded the ship at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning and ‘forcibly removed’ the 5 remaining crew members from the vessel to usher in a international crew tasked with crusing the ship to Singapore, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) reported.

The removing of the Australian crew members follows a 60-day dispute with New York-based mining group Alcoa, who’s planning to promote the aluminum service and substitute it with a foreign-flagged ship and international crew.

The MV Portland had been utilized by Alcoa for 27 years on the home Western Australia-to-Portland route, however the firm plans to exchange the majority service with a ship crusing beneath a flag of comfort (FOC) and operated by low cost international labor, an motion that many argue circumvents Australia’s cabotage legal guidelines.

Wednesday’s removing of the crew members was strongly condemned by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), who says the daybreak raid got here regardless of widespread opposition in Australia, in addition to from seafarers and commerce unions all over the world.

ITF normal secretary Steve Cotton mentioned: “They came for the Portland like thieves in the night. This raid and the flight of this respected vessel – with its 27 year history of serving Australian industry – raises grave questions, not just about the future of Australia as a maritime nation but also about the fitness of the crew who have been parachuted in to take this vessel away. The ITF will be investigating these matters fully, including the role of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority in this affair.”

In a strongly worded assertion following the raid, the MUA nationwide secretary and ITF president Paddy Crumlin questioned Alcoa’s ‘heavy-handed approach’ to the removing of the crew, in addition to the license permitting Alcoa to make use of international ships on a home route.

“Questions need to be asked about the role of Alcoa and the Australian Government in this,” Mr. Crumlin mentioned.

“How did the international crew acquire permission to enter after which sail the vessel? Where are the crew from? What safety checks have they got? What visa are they on?

“Has Australia learnt nothing since the infamous waterfront dispute in 1998? When did it suddenly become ok to again send in security guards in the dead of night to forcibly remove a workforce? This sort of thing shouldn’t happen to anyone in their workplace.”

Alcoa was granted non permanent license by the Australian authorities to exchange the vessel with a international ship, however later the Australian Senate denied making modifications to the nation’s legal guidelines and open routes to international ships.