Alexander Spirits Departure Pushed Back Again

zoom Alexander Spirit crew The departure of the fuel tanker Alexander Spirit which was supposed to set sail from Devonport to Singapore on Tuesday has been delayed once again. As informed by the vessels operator Teekay Shipping, quoted by ABC News, the latest delay has been caused by crew shortage as the vessel was still missing a cook. The ship is expected to head for Singapore on Thursday, in line with the new schedule. The journey was first postponed on Monday as at least four crew members left the ship due to stress-related health problems and the tanker needed to meet the minimum crewing requirements in order to finally set sail. The 36 crew members of the tanker were ordered back to work last week when the Full Bench of Australia’s Fair Work Commission upheld FWC’s order to crew members to return back to work, confirming that the crew’s industrial action was illegal and dismissing MUA’s appeal. The crew were protesting having been told by the vessels owner, Caltex, that their upcoming voyage to Singapore would be their last as they had been replaced by a foreign crew. World Maritime News Staff