VLADIVOSTOK, October 5. /TASS/. The Ukrainian members of the GO SKAR vessel flying the flag of Liberia who went on strike in Russia’s Far Eastern sea port of Nakhodka because of debt wages have asked to admit them to the Russian Seamen’s Union, the chairman of the union’s Far Eastern organization told TASS on Monday.

"The sailors have no intention of leaving the port of Nakhodka until full wage debt repayment," Nikolay Sukhanov said. "There is no money on the sailors’ accounts. The sailors said they wanted to join the Russian Seamen’s Union and expressed a desire to have a collective treaty of the International Transport Workers’ Federation aboard the ship, as the vessel operates under the flag of convenience," Sukhanov said.

He added that the sailors again filed a request to the captain of the port of Nakhodka to provide a safe anchorage after the completion of the loading the ship with coal and de-berthing, since they do not intend to leave the port until the full wage debt repayment.

Sukhanov earlier said that the ship owner had sent the captain of the port of Nakhodka and the vessel’s captain the letters with a guarantee of debt repayment on the arrival of the ship in the next of port in China. The crew decided not to continue the sail, to complete the vessel’s loading, to lay out at the port of Nakhodka and stand at the anchor position.