A Sierra Leone-registered cargo ship, which has sat anchored offshore of Putian Port, Fujian Province, since October last year, has been ordered impounded after the owners of the cargo persuaded a local court they have the right to have tons of iron ore offloaded. 

The Albanian captain and 16 Syrian crew members of the Ledor are locked in a pay dispute with its Albanian owner, and have refused to bring the vessel to port to offload 22,000 tons of iron ore.

An official from the Xiamen Maritime Court, surnamed Zhu, told the Global Times that Chinese police and maritime officials have boarded the Ledor, but the crew is refusing to cooperate and won't bring ship to port until they are paid.

"It remains anchored off the port, as we are keeping the situation under control," said Zhu.

"The owner of the cargo is a subsidiary of the Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation, and the court is negotiating with the company to pay at least part of crew's salary, to help persuade them to bring the ship to port."

The court found that as of June 30, the crew was owed total wages of $435,000.

The Albanian owner has not been heard from after he failed to pay for the ship's repairs in October last year when it ran aground while seeking shelter in bad weather.

"We impounded the ship on July 5 in accordance with the Special Maritime Procedure Law," the presiding judge at the court, surnamed Chen, told the Global Times Monday.

"The crew is still living onboard. The ship and the cargo owner have agreed to pay part of their living costs, but they too have suffered great economic losses and cannot offer more," said Chen.

"It's been the most complicated case in the court for 20 years," said Chen, as the case involves a missing foreign owner and crew from a third country.

"All we can do is negotiate with the cargo owner and the crew," Zhu said, adding that the court does not want to force the ship to dock.

The ship was en route from India to Yangzijiang Port in Jiangsu Province, when it ran into rough seas. As it sailed into calmer waters, it ran aground near Putian on October 4.