The UK has detained five of six Global Cruise Lines ships inspected after crew raised welfare concerns.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the 16,144-gt Astoria (built 1948), 20,704-gt Astor (built 1987), 63,786-gt Columbus (built 1989) and 56,000-gt Vasco da Gama (built 1993) were all held at Tilbury after checks on Friday.
The 22,080-GT Marco Polo (built 1965) at Bristol has also been detained.
The 46,052-GT Magellan (built 1985) was not detained after no significant deficiencies were found.
Surveyors found "a number of expired and invalid seafarers employment agreements, late payment of wages and crews who had been on board for over 12 months".
The MCA said: "All these are in breach of the Maritime Labour Convention [MLC] and the ships have been detained for that reason."
UK Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps said: “The welfare of seafarers is of the utmost importance and we take any reports of safety concerns around crew incredibly seriously.
Every power to be used
"Following today’s investigation, five ships have been detained and we will not hesitate to continue to use every power within our control to safeguard the health and happiness of every seafarer currently working in the UK.”
The ships will remain detained until the breaches of the MLC are resolved and the MCA is invited back in to reinspect.
The saga began on Friday when the MCA said its surveyors have detained the 16,144-gt Astoria (built 1948) at Tilbury.
This was not a formal detention, but merely a way of ensuring it did not leave port so that a full inspection could be carried out related to the Maritime Labour Convention, the MCA told TradeWinds.
The Astoria is part of the fleet operated by the UK's Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) and is listed as owned by Islands Cruises Transportes.
Crew want to go home
A Global Cruise Lines spokesman told TradeWinds earlier on Friday that the complaints from some crew arose because they want to be repatriated after their contracts finished.
"They are right. I sympathise 1,000 per cent," he added.
"We are trying our best but it's extremely difficult to get crew home."
He stressed that all crew have adequate accommodation and supplies and there are no MLC problems on board.
And he said the company has been managing CMV ships in the UK for 12 years with no detentions.
Global Cruise Lines has been chartering flights to return crew home, but some have been cancelled. "We have made tremendous efforts, but we need help from governments," the spokesman said.
Some of the Indian seafarers on board the Astoria had gone on hunger strike, but Global Cruise Lines said this only lasted half a day.
CMV said earlier this week that one crewman had died of a heart attack on the Vasco da Gama at Tilbury.
No fault found
"The MCA has taken this action following a number of serious concerns which were raised about the welfare of the crew," the MCA said.
TradeWinds is told the MCA has not found anything wrong with the Astoria and the preventative detention does not prejudice the current full inspection.
A spokeswoman said she could not reveal details of any welfare concerns during an ongoing investigation.
Katy Ware, the UK's permanent representative to the International Maritime Organization and its director of maritime safety and standards, said: "We will always take reports around crew welfare seriously and we have used our powers as the port state control authority to carry out this detention so that we can investigate more fully."
Crew concerns being addressed
CMV confirmed their ships had been inspected in Tilbury and Bristol.
It is cooperating fully with the MCA and will endeavour to ensure that any crew concerns are addressed, it said.
"The health, safety and welfare of all their passengers and crew is CMV’s top priority," it added.
"CMV, as have many other cruise lines, has faced an unprecedented emerging humanitarian issue as many crew members became stranded on cruiseships as borders closed as a result of the global outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. CMV has worked hard to repatriate as many crew members as possible and has been unable to repatriate all crew members due to the travel restrictions," it said.
CMV chief executive Christian Verhounig added: "The vast majority of our European crew have already been repatriated. We have flown home a large number of international crew on specially chartered flights.
"CMV has been in high-level talks with the Indian and other international governments to help facilitate and expedite our crew’s safe return home to their families and today have repatriated by air charter most of our Myanmarese crew, with another plane leaving this Sunday."
Other charter flights are in place to India and Indonesia. Final landing approval is awaited, the company said.
Flights are also being finalised to other countries.
Verhounig added: "Customs restrictions are preventing our hardworking crew on board from receiving cigarettes and alcohol.
"Our crew have endured a prolonged period quarantined on board our ships during lockdown and are understandably anxious and distressed as a result. We fully sympathise with and understand our crew’s frustration and upset at being held under quarantine conditions on board our ships due to the local restrictions imposed."
Sociedade de Consultores Maritimos of Portugal, which describes itself as offering technical assistance to the owner, told TradeWinds the ship is under a bareboat contract expiring in September.
It said it had received information that the vessel may be heading to Lisbon in the future and that manning is being reduced to minimum levels.
Claims filed against CMV
Five of CMV’s cruiseships within UK waters are facing claims for unpaid bunker bills.
Bunker supplier KPI Bridge Oil filed claims on 29 April against the Astoria, Magellan, Marco Polo, Columbus, and on 4 June against that Astor as it entered English waters, according to filings with London's High Court.
TradeWinds understands that CMV has not yet been served with the claims, but is aware of them.
Creditors are giving the cruise company room to breathe while it puts together a new refinancing plan, TradeWinds has learned.
The company is said to be in discussions to raise new liquidity from other sources after a plan to secure funds from other parties failed earlier this week.
CMV had hoped to secure a £25m ($31m) loan from Barclays under the coronavirus large-business interruption loan scheme, but this fell through.
It said in a statement on Wednesday: "As the majority of other cruise lines have already done or are presently doing, CMV is also looking for additional financing to improve its liquidity position until sailing will resume again.
"As such, CMV is presently in discussions and negotiations with a number of financial institutions and banks and is confident to finalise these discussions very shortly and so is unable to comment on or disclose details of these discussions with individual parties until they are finalised."
CMV operates a fleet of seven smaller to medium-size classic and traditional cruiseships sailing from 12 UK and Ireland ports.
