The Russian container vessel at the centre of legal wrangle has been sold to a Greek buyer for €410,000.
The MV Lillianwas auctioned at Brandon Court Hotel in New Ross today, following an decision by Mr Justice Paul Butler ordering the Belzie-registered ship to be sold.
The purchaser was Ioannis N Nomkon of the Ola Maritime Company SA, Greece.
Mr Justice Butler ruled on June 21 that the Lillianwas to be auctioned and the crew members, who are owned €70,347, were to be paid from the proceeds.
The ships crew had been stranded in New Ross when an Irish Steel company refused to accept its cargo of steel rods.
The crew of nine remained on the ship for five weeks before they allowed International Transport Federation (ITF) inspector Ken Fleming to assess their predicament.
The 30-year-old vessel was found to have structural defects and its cargo was damaged because water had been leaking into the hold. Mr Fleming also discovered the crew had not been paid since setting sail from Murmansk, on April 9th.
The crew flew home to Russia last Wednesday after Mr Justice Butler formally recognised their claim in the High Court and funds of €2,800 were released to pay for the trip.
Mr Fleming said today the €410,000 will be handed to the High Court to decide within 21 days where the money will go.
Receivers were also trying to recover money he said, but he was confident the crew would be paid.
'I am absolutely delighted. There had been fears that the vessel would not fetch enough to cover the pay due to the Russian seafarers. I am satisfied that they will now be paid,' Mr Fleming said.
'We owe this outcome to the good stewardship of the case by Mr Justice Paul Butler, who vindicated the men's rights in the courts,' he said.
Mr Fleming said the receivers would have a chance to stand in front of Judge Butler and make their case.
'From my point of view I'm only interested in the crew. I think we will be seen alright through the process,' he added.
The crew members were effectively adopted by the local community after being stranded in the middle of the legal wrangle.
The Customs Service provided emergency supplies and they were subsequently assisted by the Local Community Project, the Department of Social and Family Affairs, the New Ross Chamber and Councillor Martin Malone.
Bus Éireann provided them with a free trip to Dublin airport on the day of their departure last week.
'These men would have been literally left to starve on the quayside, caught in the middle of a legal wrangle between the ship's owners and its customers over a damaged cargo, but for the help of the community in New Ross and Judge Butler,' Mr Fleming said.
We have a long way to go before the abuses that are so prevalent in the shipping industry are ended but at least we are beginning to see the beginnings of public awareness that there is a problem, he said.
The ship's captain Alexander Kharlamov said last week the crew had been reluctant to get the ITF involved but with their families waiting for them in Russia it seemed the only way out of a difficult situation.