Grain ship departs Australia for RI

Grain ship departs Australia for RI

SYDNEY (Reuter): Disruption to Australian commodity exports from Maritime Union of Australia bans on Indonesian ships and cargoes appears to be less than feared after the sailing of grains carrier Bogasari Empat from Fremantle yesterday.

The Port of Fremantle said yesterday the 32,500 ton vessel set sail for Indonesia at 8.15 a.m. West Coast time (00:15 GMT).

A union official told Reuters the ship had been delayed from leaving the port by between 12 and 15 hours as part of an ongoing protest against the arrest of two independent labor leaders in Indonesia.

But the official, Ross Storer, international transport director of the union, said there were no other actions planned for Western Australia at this time.

A shipping source in Darwin also told Reuters that livestock vessels bound for Indonesia had not been delayed by the union bans.

"Nothing at all," said the source, who asked not to be named.

The Murray Express departed for Indonesia with a cargo of livestock on Wednesday night and the Charolais Express was leaving for Indonesia with a livestock cargo yesterday, he said.

Maritime Union of Australia official Terry Buck said on Thursday that a container vessel due in Fremantle next week would be hit by bans while a cattle vessel had been held up in Darwin since Wednesday.

Australian commodity exports which it was feared would be disrupted by the union bans include wheat, livestock, refined petroleum, cotton, aluminum and steel.

The union earlier this week announced that it would impose rolling bans of up to 24 hours on ships bound for Indonesia to protest the arrest of two independent labor leaders in Indonesia.