By Nick Toscano
A cargo ship that hauls alumina for Rio Tinto along Australia's coast is under investigation for failing to pay its crew and keeping squalid living conditions on board.
Australian authorities detained and boarded the Maratha Paramount – an Indian-owned bulk carrier that flies the flag of the Marshall Islands – and conducted inquiries while it was docked in Gladstone earlier this week.
The Maratha Paramount.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority confirmed it had issued the vessel with two deficiency notices – for failing to pay the wages of its 22 crew members for two months, and for failing to provide them with clean facilities. A spokeswoman said the ship was released from detention after the violations were rectified.
A follow-up audit will be conducted by government inspectors and the international seafarers' union on Thursday when the ship reaches its next destination, Newcastle.
"There were empty shelves and just scraps of food on board ... a couple of bags of rice, frozen beans, and their drinking water was the colour of tea," International Transport Workers Federation co-ordinator Dean Summers said.
"The crew were miserable ... they hadn't been paid since July."
The ship, which has 22 Indian crew, has been running alumina from Gladstone to Newcastle.
It is the latest so-called "flag of covenience" vessel to be embroiled in allegations of violating international labour conventions while operating in Australian waters on a temporary licence.
Under national shipping laws, foreign vessels can obtain temporary licences to operate on Australian trade routes without needing to pay their workers Australian wages.
Maritime unions have been running a campaign against the use of these licences, saying they permit foreign crews being paid "as little as $2 an hour" while effectively working in Australia, and take jobs away from local seafarers.
The CSL Melbourne, an Australian carrier, formerly operated on the Maratha Paramount's alumina route between Gladstone and Newcastle, until its crew was sacked and the ship removed earlier this year.
On Wednesday, the International Transport Workers Federation called on the Turnbull government to suspend the special licence allowing Rio Tinto subsidiary Pacific Aluminum to use the Maratha Paramount for domestic voyages.
"We are calling on the Department of Infrastructure to withdraw the licence immediately and review the conditions under which the licences are issued to include human and workers' rights," Mr Summers said.
"It is an outrage that Australian crews are dumped and replaced by vulnerable workers who aren't even paid."
The Turnbull government has previously rejected maritime union criticism of the temporary licence scheme permitting use of foreign ships for domestic voyages, highlighting that the system was brought in under Labor's shipping rules in 2012.
Pacific Aluminium did not respond to a request for comment.