AUSTRALIAN-based EP Grain's first overseas shipment of wheat has been delayed by more than a week after the ship MV Hellenic Sky failed a survey.
The ship was due to take 50,000 tonne of wheat from Port Lincoln to Iraq.
While EP Grain general manager Tim Burrow dismissed the incident as on par for the course, the International Transport Workers' Federation Australia co-ordinator Matt Purcell said the survey failure should not have happened, describing the ship as "a heap."
He said an ITF inspection of the ship's books discovered the crew were being paid below international rates.
He said charterers such as Rio Tinto and AWB vet ships before they charter them to ensure proper conditions and safety issues were addressed, which did not happen in this case.
Burrow said when the vessel arrived at Port Lincoln last Tuesday it failed a survey on a cleanliness basis.
He said the ship hadn't been cleaned out properly and there were signs of ore from a previous cargo.
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