- The Guardian
- Issue #2192
The International Transport Workers’ Federation Australian Inspectorate (ITF) has revealed that Vietnamese and Indian seafarers on board the MSV ATN GLORY are being grossly underpaid, in Australian waters.
The ITF have received reports of these underpayments following a refusal from An Thanh Transport Company to engage in a dialogue with the ITF to cover their vessel, as the company claims they already have a “Company Agreement.”
Yet, the wages revealed to the ITF show that these seafarers are being paid less than half of the International Labour Organisation Minimum Wage Interpretation, which indicates the lowest acceptable wage payments for Seafarers Internationally.
ITF Assistant National Coordinator Matt Purcell called attention to the wage dumping of the An Thanh Transport Company while operating in Australian waters:
“This company is competing on the Australian coast against our domestic Australian fleet and responsible International Ship Owners who take the care to cover their crews with ITF-recognised and approved crew agreements. It is disgusting that this company is sailing and competing on the Australian coast and cannot even pay their crew the minimum ILO standard.”
“We also contend that Indian crew are being bullied and harassed on board. While we were discussing the conditions on board the vessel with Indian crew members, the ship’s officers arrived and ushered them away so that they could not reveal the full extent of what must be an ordeal on board,” Purcell added.
Every year, ITF Inspectors recover huge amounts of wages owed to exploited seafarers. In 2025 alone, they recovered more than AUD $6.3 million, $4.4 million of which was for vessels not covered by an ITF collective agreement for the seafarers.
Purcell said, “The chartering of these vessels needs more scrutiny before landing on the Australian Coast. This is an outrageous attempt to undermine the reputation of Australian shipping.”
After much deliberation, the company reluctantly committed to signing an agreement with the Maritime Union of Australia to cover their hard-working crew with an appropriate and internationally recognised agreement.
The ITF vowed to monitor the vessel at its next port in Australia, Geraldton, Western Australia. The ITF also thanked the Australian Maritime Safety Authority AMSA for their assistance with the crew’s welfare.
