Russian ship denied berth by union ban

Press, 23 September 1983, Page 2

Russian ship denied berth by union ban

PA Wellington Maritime union action against the Soviet Union hardened yesterday when a Soviet passenger ship was denied a berth at Wellington.

The Priamurye (4871 tons) was forced to anchor in the harbour because of the Wellington Harbour Board Employees’ Union decision on Wednesday evening not to handle Soviet vessels until Sunday night.

Similar bans have affected U.S.S.R. fishing boats at Port Chalmers and Timaru. The union action in Wellington — the ban is for five days to be consistent with its action against the American warship Texas last month — was imposed because of the shooting down on September 1 of the South Korean aircraft by a Soviet fighter. The Priamurye is bringing replacement crews for Soviet fishing boats in New Zealand and international waters and two of the boats due to rendezvous with her at Wellington will also be affected by the ban. The Wellington Harbour Board’s general manager, Mr James Stewart, said that the ban was regrettable but the union’s branch secretary, Mr Roger Sullivan, said the shooting down of the airliner highlighted the

mistrust and suspicion that could lead to nuclear war.

The Soviet Embassy in Wellington said it was in communication with the Priamurye but had no comment on the ban.

In Wellington the deputy Chief Postmaster, Mr Max Aitken, said he was not aware of any mail delays to the U.S.S.R.

A French news agency story from Singapore on Wednesday said that airlines were refusing to carry mail to Moscow. The Soviet trawler Akmolinsk sailed from Timaru for her fishing grounds early yesterday afternoon after Timaru Harbour Board employees lifted their ban on the vessel. The Harbour Board employees had held the vessel up for 36 hours as a protest against the shooting down of the Korean airliner.