A German-owned cargo ship called the "Anna Elisabeth" was detained off the coast of Australia after the crew complained of poor working conditions, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said on Wednesday.

The Liberian-flagged bulk carrier is owned by the German shipping firm Johann MK Blumenthal, and union inspectors say the reported conditions on the ship are "systemic to this company."

The Anna Elisabeth is currently being held at Port Kembla in New South Wales, Australia.

Reports of mistreatment

The crew — comprised of 17 workers from Sri Lanka and the Philippines — said they'd experienced bullying and unsafe conditions on board.

They have not been allowed to take shore leave since January 23, when the ship was in South Africa, according to the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF).

AMSA later said the vessel lacked sufficient food, and that a rescue boat crane wasn't fully operational, according to the Australian Associated Press.

A trip around the world's biggest seaports Hamburg Germany's biggest port, located in Hamburg, shipped 137.8 million tons of cargo in 2015. And it handled 8.8 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) standard containers. This makes Hamburg the third-largest container port in Europe and the 19th biggest worldwide.

A trip around the world's biggest seaports Antwerp Antwerp is home to Belgium's largest port, with TEU container volumes amounting to about 9.6 million. Measured in terms of cargo volume, it is Europe's second biggest and stands 15th in global rankings. Antwerp is the world's largest transshipment center for package freight. Furthermore, the port of Antwerp houses the second-largest chemical industrial complex in the world after that in Houston.

A trip around the world's biggest seaports Rotterdam The port of Rotterdam is the largest in Europe and ranked 12th in the world. The entire port area has a length of 42 kilometers. The number of containers handled at the port rose 1.2 percent in 2016 to 12.4 million TEU. An increasing amount of freight was shipped to East Asia and North America.

A trip around the world's biggest seaports Los Angeles/Long Beach The port of Los Angeles is located on San Pedro Bay, about 30 kilometers south of the city center. Located adjacent to it is the port of Long Beach - blurring the geographic boundaries between the two. Together, the two ports occupied 10th spot worldwide in 2015, handling some 15.3 million standard containers.

A trip around the world's biggest seaports Dubai The Jebel Ali Port in Dubai is the biggest and busiest international port in the Middle East. It was built in the late 1970s and in 2015 it shipped nearly 15.6 million standard containers, placing the port in the ninth place worldwide.

A trip around the world's biggest seaports Guangzhou The port of Guangzhou, ranked 7th in the world, is one of the six Chinese ports that are among the top ten ports worldwide in terms of container volume. Over 17.5 million standard containers were handled by the Guangzhou port in 2015.

A trip around the world's biggest seaports Busan Busan is, after the capital Seoul, the second largest metropolis in South Korea, and it is the East Asian country's most important hub for international trade. In 2015, 19.4 million standard containers were loaded and unloaded in this port surrounded by a scenic mountain chain. Busan houses the sixth biggest port in the world.

A trip around the world's biggest seaports Hongkong Hong Kong's harbor has benefited from the territory's strategic location facing the South China Sea. With a capacity to handle over 20 million standard containers, Hong Kong's port ranks the fifth largest in the world.

A trip around the world's biggest seaports Singapore Singapore's port handles nearly 31 million standard containers annually and therefore secures the second spot in global rankings. The city-state always strives to maintain top notch facilities at its port, jealously guarding its reputation as the most important transshipment point between Europe and Southeast Asia.

A trip around the world's biggest seaports Shanghai Shanghai's port, by a wide margin, has occupied the top slot worldwide since 2010. The port handled around 36.5 million standard containers in 2015, over three times as many as in Hamburg. Author: Klaus Ullrich (sri)



Not enough to feed the crew

Australian authorities decided to launch an investigation into the charges after receiving a complaint from the ITF and the Maritime Union of Australia.

ITF national coordinator Dean Summers said that its inspectors boarded the ship and found that there was not enough food to feed the crew on the journey to Singapore.

"Meat and fish were freezer burnt and fresh provisions were very low, certainly not enough to get 17 seafarers to Singapore," Summers said in a statement.

Allan Schwartz, AMSA's general manager of ship safety, said that companies who continue to breach the country's maritime labor laws could be banned from Australian waters.

"All ships in Australian waters need to comply with Australian standards," Schwartz said.

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The biggest container ships in the world The 'toys' of the super-rich Rivalry among ship owners seems fiercest in the super-yacht category, where Arab sheiks, Russian oligarchs and US billionaires dig deep - not shy to splash out on costly extensions even during construction to outbid others in the race for luxury. Momentarily, the "toy" of a Saudi sheikh holds the title. His 180-meter yacht named Azzam is equipped with helideck, missile defense and submarine.

The biggest container ships in the world 'Sailing boat' for the romatic The world's biggest yacht under sails is called "Sailing Yacht A" and the creation of designer Philippe Starck. She is owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Melnitchenko. The total sail area of 3,747 square metres is equal to the size of half a football pitch, She has eight decks with three swimming pools and an underwater observation pod in the keel.

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The biggest container ships in the world Russian trailblazer Three-meters-thick Arctic ice fields? No problem for Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika. According to Russian media, it's the most powerful vessel of its kind and scheduled to be commissioned by the end of the 2017. Then it will be deployed to the Arctic oil and gas fields to blaze the trail for Russian tankers. Russia wants to build several more of these ships in the years to come.

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The biggest container ships in the world Piggyback on the sea Floating oil rigs (see picture) or even whole ships can be moved by the Dockwise Vanguard. The heavy lift ship sinks into the water, towboats drag the load over the charging platform and then the ship lifts herself up again. The world biggest transportation ship is 275 meters long.

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The biggest container ships in the world Human beings are not needed Size is not everything! The ships of the future might be electrically-driven and without any crew. Norway will start the first experiment with a self-driving e-container ship next year. The Yara Birkland will ship fertilizer along the coast of Norway - first with a captain on the helm, and from 2019 remote-controlled. In 2020, the ship will travel autonomously, likely to become a "game changer." Author: Insa Wrede



German company in focus

Johann MK Blumenthal, which is based in Hamburg, has not yet responded to the reports.

ITF said that in recent weeks, inspectors in Europe found other cases of food shortages on ships owned by the German company.

"It is our suspicion that this company is under intense financial pressure and has sought to save money wherever it can," Summers said.

In its statement, ITF called on the Australian government to urge other countries to "audit and detain" Blumenthal ships whenever rights violations were found.

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