Exclusive | Captain and two crew arrested for scuffle over can of coffee as tensions rise on ship detained in Hong Kong waters
Stuck on vessel for six months without wages or stable food supply, impatient crew members are fighting over almost everything, one tells the Post
Tensions ran high inside a casino cruise ship detained in Hong Kong waters as its Ukrainian shipmaster and two Chinese crew members were arrested on Thursday for allegedly being involved in a scuffle over a can of coffee.
The situation has grown increasingly fraught on board the New Imperial Star, where 46 crew members – of whom 20 were from Ukraine, 18 from Myanmar and eight from the mainland – have been stuck in limbo for half a year after the vessel failed safety inspections.
Faced with six months of unpaid wages and an unstable food supply, the crew are becoming impatient and edgy, fighting over almost everything, a crew member who wished to remain anonymous told the Post.
“Almost every day there is a war over everything, from a plate of rice to even a cigarette,” the crew member said.
“Because they don’t have money, people are nervous when they don’t know anything about tomorrow.”
