Food shortage fears as Flinders Island stand-off continues

According to local reports, Percy Barnett, the master of Southern Shipping's strike-bound Matthew Flinders III, which is tied up at the small port, was served with a restraining order and removed from the ship yesterday.

The ship, now unable to move without a master, has prevented the relief vessel, Statesman, from docking.

The Statesman's owner, Les Dick of LD Shipping, is in discussions with the Tasmanian Ports Corporation (Tasports) with a view to landing at Whitemark with a cargo of emergency food and supplies.

For its part, Tasports has served notice on Southern Shipping to remove the Matthew Flinders III by midday.

"Tasports helped facilitate getting cargo into Bell Bay aboard the Statesman which is now at Lady Barron waiting to unload,” chief operations officer David Phillips said.

"We are also examining other options to assist LD Shipping discharge its cargo today if, for some reason, the Statesman is unable to enter the berth at Lady Barron."

Federal agriculture minister Tony Burke has reportedly condemned the handling of the strike over alleged unpaid wages.

Southern Shipping director Geoffrey Gabriel has disputed the allegation that the crew had now been paid correctly.

Meanwhile Maritime Union of Australia national secretary Paddy Crumlin has joined the Greens in taking the Tasmanian Government to task on its handling of the issue.