Estonian union has ship seized by court for unpaid wages

Photo: Tambet Allik / Saarte Hääl

Acting upon a request from the Estonian Seamen's Independent Union (EMSA), the Tallinn-based Harju county court has impounded the ship Symphony of Green Shipping OU over the shipper's debt of more than 53,000 euros in unpaid wages to the crew since October 2015.

«The ship's crew has not been paid their remuneration in full since December 2015 and the shipowners' debt to the crew aboard the ship now and to the previous crew from October 2015 onwards amounts to over 53,000 euros,» EMSA organization secretary Hannes Roosaar said in a press release on Tuesday.

To secure the claims of its members for remuneration, EMSA and its legal representative, Pohla&Hallmagi law office, filed a request for the seizure of the Symphony, which the court granted.

The ship belonging to Green Shipping OU sails under the flag of St.Vincent and the Grenadines.

With a membership of 2,300, EMSA is the biggest trade union of maritime and port professionals in Estonia. The union's members work at 27 different companies, ten of which are operators of ships under flags other than Estonian.