The admiralty division of the High Court ordered that the ship be detained last Friday after Ken Fleming of the International Transport Federation/Siptu showed that the crew had not been paid in contravention of maritime law.

Fleming said that the ship had first tried to evict the Russian crew last Thursday when it emerged that ITF/Siptu was seeking payment.

When this failed, the ship tried to leave the port but Norfolk Lines, which chartered the vessel, withdrew its pilot.

Though Norfolk Lines charters the vessel between Dublin and Heysham in the UK, it is crewed by the St Petersburg-based ADG Shipping, which is responsible for payment of wages.

A fortnight ago, a sister vessel . . .

the Merchant Bravery . . . was found to have underpaid its Russian crew by 200,000. But the ship was allowed to proceed after the money was paid over.

"This sort of behaviour by crewing agencies will not be tolerated on the Irish sea. This is exploitation on a level reminiscent of a Jack London novel from the early 1900s, " warned Fleming.