WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An international crew detained on their cargo ship at the Port of West Sacramento is free to go.
The U.S. Marshalls seized the ship last week due to an unpaid fuel bill of over $400,000, and the crew from the ship, sailing under the flag of Hong Kong, has been stuck there ever since.
However, according to the president of the local longshore union, the bill has now been paid in full.
"China Spirit" has been docked at the port for three weeks and is likely to leave on Friday, heading for Jordan in the Middle East.
On Wednesday, a judge ordered their release after the bill was paid to a Danish fuel supplier, according Tim Campbell, president of ILWU Local 18.
He said the crew had nothing to do with the unpaid bill, which dates back to March.
Campbell said these types of ships can be compared to a rental car. It was the same ship, but a different company and a different crew was responsible for the bill.
But now that the bill is paid, it's a big relief to the 21-member crew, who at first didn't understand what was going on.
"They were wondering why this was happening to them, but really it's kind of turned around tonight," Campbell said. "I was out there. I was on the vessel as well, talking to the crew. A little bit of a language barrier, but their body language is good, the handshakes, the high fives. It seems like the spirits lifted."
The crew has been loading 20,000 metric tons of rice for export to Jordan.
The union president said this kind of seizure is uncommon in the U.S.
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