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Crew members paid and repatriated

The 46 crew members of Marshall Islands flagged livestock carrier 'Barkly Pearl', 5375 gt (IMO:9042295), – which is banned from Australian ports after an alarming safety breach – and the 'Diamantina', have finally returned to their home recently. The crew members were not paid their salaries for several months. However, later stakeholders forced the owners to pay all the dues, including wages, travel, and accommodation of all the personnel, including Pakistani seamen. Therefore, the owners of the vessel have paid to all the crew members, including Pakistanis and foreigners serving in the ships. The seafarers had been left unpaid amid dispute between owners and manager for three months on the ships with poor safety records. The ITF has claimed the failure to pay the crews of the 'Barkly Pearl' and 'Diamantina' meant they could be considered abandoned under international law. Both ships are 70% owned by the Singaporean company Beng Kuang Marine (BKM) as part of a joint venture called Cattle Line. Australian businessman Nick Thorne owns the remaining 30% through his Northern Territory-based cattle export business, NTXLS. The ships have been sitting idle in Indonesian waters for the past three months. Under Cattle Line’s ownership maritime authorities have repeatedly found both vessels to be in breach of safety rules, with 177 defects recorded against the 'Barkly Pearl' and 68 against the 'Diamantina'. In January, the Australian Marine Safety Authority banned the Barkly Pearl from Australian ports for two years after it was seen listing in the water with a hole in its hull on Nov 3, 2020. BKM has also been under financial pressure. Its shipping division, which includes Cattle Line, recorded a loss of S$17.1m last year, helping drive the company as a whole to a loss of S$15.4m. The 'Barkly Pearl' was transported aboard the heavy load carrier 'Falcon' (IMO:7915278) to a shipyard owned by BKM on the Indonesian island of Batam, near Singapore, while the 'Diamantina' was moored off Jakarta after being arrested by the Indonesian navy at the end of August for anchoring in territorial waters without permission. After the ITF’s intervention, most of the Pakistani, Filipino and Indonesian crew members aboard the two ships were paid last week, but as of Dec 1 eight were yet to receive what they were owed.

At Batan Island

Renamed Diamantina

OXL Oceanic is towed to Auckland (NZ) after losing power

The OXL Oceanic lost propulsion last Thursday about 300km northwest of Cape Reinga. Maritime New Zealand Spokesman Ross Henderson says the vessel requested assistance from a tug from Auckland. He says the tug met the vessel on Saturday evening and is making its way back to New Zealand for repairs. The ship is expected to arrive back in Auckland on Thursday.