Some 19 Russian and Latvian crew members of the Merchant Bravery, which operates between Dublin and Heysham in Britain, were today given back pay totalling €122,971. The average payment was just over €5,000.
Siptu and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) became involved after claims emerged last month that Eastern European workers aboard the vessel were earning just €2 per hour.
Norfolk Line, the company which chartered the Latvian-owned Bahmas registered cargo ferry, met with ITF inspector Ken Fleming and last week paid out €50,000 to four workers from Russia.
Mr Fleming, who is on secondment from SIPTU, said today that new management arrangements were being made on the vessel.
"This to ensure there is no repeat of the situation we found when the vessel was boarded two weeks ago, with crew members left unpaid for weeks on end," he said.
Crew members were hired and told their pay would be lodged in accounts at home, but according to Mr Fleming later discovered "that little or nothing had been paid after they were discharged".
He said today's settlement includes a "no-victimisation clause" and the four Russian seamen who discharged last week, were to return to the vessel in January.
"Neither the ITF, nor Norfolk Lines who chartered the vessel, have any faith in the agents that made the crewing arrangements in the past", Mr Fleming said.
"These are now being changed and the Merchant Braverywill be like a second home to the ITF for the foreseeable future. I will also be investigating other vessels. We have to clean up what is happening on the Irish Sea."
He thanked Norfolk Lines for assistance in resolving the dispute.