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Cannix Yau

Some 46 crew members working aboard a casino cruise ship are stuck in limbo as its mysterious owner has failed to pay wages as the vessel is detained in Hong Kong waters.
The crew aboard New Imperial Star planned to apply for legal aid and take the owner to court in the city for five-plus months of unpaid wages. The crew were last paid in January this year for wages covering November last year, with some having been on board over a year.
Watch: Crew aboard casino ship detained in Hong Kong haven't been paid for six months and are living in squalid conditions

Some industry insiders said their plight highlighted how the gambling casino business had been hit hard following Beijing’s crackdown on corruption and the gaming business.
A crew member who wished to remain anonymous told the Post “the ship is really a prison”. He said many crew members – of whom 20 were from Ukraine, 18 from Myanmar and eight from the mainland – eagerly wanted to go home, but the ship owner had failed to pay their wages or airfare.
Other crew members complained about living conditions inside the ship, including poor air quality, substandard food and inadequate medical care.
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“Many people also complained of having stomach problems, and some people are seriously ill,” said another crew member, who claimed a doctor’s consultation had to be paid at one’s own expense.
Arising International Holdings Limited, the ship’s owner, was accused of failing to pay the crew’s wages, ranging from US$1,300 to over US$6,500 per month, for at least five months.
The ship has been detained in local waters, one mile off Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, since November 5 after failing Port State Control inspection by local marine officers charged with ensuring foreign ships comply with international maritime conventions.
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The vessel’s shipboard safety management system was found to be ineffective and its owner or agent had to rectify the problem before it could set sail.
The crew members’ employment contracts were signed by the owner’s agent, Sun Junhao Limited, but a spokesman for the agent told the Post his company was not involved in the owner’s business.
An insider said the owner ran into financial difficulties as the casino cruise business had nosedived. “Most of the cruise passengers were from the mainland, but now he has trouble getting enough gamblers and big spenders,” the source said of the owner.
Built in 1979 and registered in the Republic of Palau, the vessel arrived in Hong Kong on September 2 last year. In the open sea, passengers engaged in gambling and were not subject to local jurisdiction.
Palau, an island country in the western Pacific Ocean, shares maritime boundaries with Indonesia, the Philippines, and the Federated States of Micronesia.
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It is common for casino cruises to sail into international waters where national laws have no authority, for passengers to engage in gambling activities.
Jason Lam Wai-hong of the International Transport Workers Federation, which has been assisting the crew, said an owner representative promised to pay the wages after the ship was allowed to set sail again. The representative, surnamed Wong, was understood to be in Beijing finding investors to rescue the struggling business.
However, some crew members said they had lost faith in the owner. “I just want to get back my wages and go home,” said one.
It was understood Ukrainian shipmaster Valeriy Lyzhyn was helping crew members make claims but that most had difficulties filling in the forms since 70 per cent of the crew did not understand English.


‘The ship is really a prison’: crew aboard casino vessel detained in Hong Kong speak of dire living conditions, unpaid wages

The New Imperial Star cruise ship was detained in Hong Kong for failing to pass inspection. Photo: SCMP Pictures

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Staff members tell Post they plan to take ship’s owner to court in the city
