New ship in foreign crew row

Crew members are refusing to sail a ship in “illegal industrial action’’ over coastal licences for foreign-crewed vessels.

Crew of the CSL Melbourne make their protest in Newcastle. Picture: MUA

Crew members of the bulk-carrier ship CSL Melbourne are refusing orders to sail to Singapore as the latest protest over the federal government’s coastal shipping licences for foreign-staffed vessels threatens to escalate.

In a sign of further trouble with the Maritime Union of Australia after the sacking of the crew of MV Portland, another bulk carrier, CSL Melbourne seamen appeared on the deck of the ship in Newcastle wearing T-shirts declaring they had been “Sacked for being Australian”.

The Canadian-controlled company CSL Australia has ordered the crew to sail to Singapore and be replaced with foreign workers for “international trades’’ after the Pacific Aluminium company dumped the CSL Melbourne from its Newcastle to Gladstone route.

Tonight CSL Australia said in a statement that some crew members on board had commenced “illegal industrial action’’.

They were refusing to sail and the company was “reviewing its options to return the vessel to service’’, it said.

The Turnbull government has awarded a special licence to allow Pacific Aluminium to use a foreign vessel on the route.

In a statement released by the MUA, the crew accused the federal government of “destroying our industry”.

“We feel compelled to make a statement at this critical time for Australian shipping,” the crew said.

“Many of us as Australian seafarers will never work again as companies like Pacific Aluminium and the Turnbull government set out to destroy our industry.

“Amongst us there is many, many years of years of seagoing experience thrown on the scrap heap and replaced by a cheap, highly exploited foreign crew.

“We demand that the Turnbull government cancel the ‘temporary licences’ that do away with our jobs,” the statement read.

The crew also argued CSL was in breach of the enterprise bargaining agreement.

CSL Australia said in its statement it had “decided to reassign CSL Melbourne to the company’s

international trades’’ after the recent termination of a major long-term contract to which CSL Melbourne was principally dedicated.

There was also a lack of any economically viable work for a vessel of this tonnage and

dimensions in Australian waters, it said.

“CSL Australia is working to reassign crew members from CSL Melbourne to other vessels in its fleet,’’ the company said.

“Regrettably, some positions are likely to be made redundant. CSL Australia will ensure that all affected crew will be paid their full employee entitlements.’’

A Pacific Aluminium spokeswoman said the company needed to use another vessel after Hydro Aluminium closed its Kurri Kurri smelter in NSW in 2014.

Pacific Aluminium, which shared the CSL Melbourne with Hydro Aluminium, said the Kurri Kurri closure had left the ship with “substantially lower” freight tonnage.

A bitter two-month industrial stand-off was sparked by the sacking of the Portland’s crew, which ended when the ship’s owner Alcoa forcibly removed remaining crew in a late-night raid.

The affair antagonised Senate crossbenchers Jacqui Lambie and John Madigan, who voted against the Coalition’s proposed reforms to coastal shipping laws.

The MUA and the Portland crew intend to appear at a Senate inquiry in Canberra next week.

Pacific Aluminium’s freight contract with CSL servicing its Tomago smelter expired last December 31.