The crew of a NewLead Holdings bulker is looking to recoup six months of unpaid wages as the ship is prepped for sale, according to an affidavit.
Captain Abraham Capero, the master of the 75,966-dwt Newlead Victoria (built 2002), filed an affidavit with the admiralty court of Malaysia making the claim. He says the ship's crew is owed $331,000 in unpaid wages and repatriation costs.
As reported in TradeWinds, the crew of the Newlead Victoria is one of several crews that went unpaid due to the owner's cash flow problems. The master's affidavit says the owner failed to pay wages from July to December.
The Newlead Victoria faces three arrest warrants with mortgagee Portigon saying it is owed $26m. The lender obtained an order from the Malaysian court taking over the arrest and appointed local ship agents Ultra Clear Water to take control of the ship.
The crew left the vessel a month after its initial arrest amid uncertainty over who was responsible for their wages.
Portigon obtained an order last week for the vessel's sale, the affidavit claims. Under Malaysian law, crew wages and repatriation costs are considered part of the sheriff's expenses in arresting the vessel and receive priority treatment in seniority of claims.
A representative of Portigon was unavailable to comment by presstime.
