AFTER being stuck at anchor in Portland Bay since September, the remaining 16 crew and the captain of the Yangtze Fortune are en route to their homes in the Philippines.

As reported in The Observer on Tuesday, the ship has been sold for US$6m plus nearly half a million dollars (Australian) for supplies on board, and is now manned by a new crew and likely soon to set sail.

A local charter boat brought the 17 men ashore in Portland early Wednesday morning to board a bus to Melbourne airport, the first time any of them had stepped on land since before Christmas, and July before that.

Originally 36 had been on board when the Liberian flagged livestock carrier came into Portland five months ago with a damaged hull, last month 19 crew and the cook were allowed to return home but the rest had to stay onboard to keep the ship running safely.

Debts mounted as the ship’s owners, China based Soar Harmony Shipping Ltd, did not make payments for fuel and other supplies, and failed to meet contractual agreements.

In December, a Singaporean supply company, Dan Bunkering Pte Ltd, claiming a debt owed to it, made an application for the ship to be arrested in the Federal Court of Australia.

Justice Angus Stewart granted the request and appointed an Admiralty Marshal to hold the ship and manage the debts, and ultimately ordered the sale of the ship to make the repayments as the owners had essentially abandoned the vessel.

Since the arrest, seven other companies trying to reclaim debts owed to them by the owners have laid caveats against the Fortune’s release, and recently that there was a significant mortgage on the ship.

As for the crew, the 19 who returned in February received a month’s pay on arrival in Manila from the Marshal but otherwise they have gone unpaid for at least six months.

By December, the estimated money owed to them was more than $250,000.

The Portland Mission to Seafarers have been regularly supplying them with phone cards to keep them in contact with family, and along with union International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), ensuring they are allowed comforts and safe travel home.

When the first group of crew left, they had not been given transport home from the capital city of Manila, nor any cash to feed themselves on their travels.

Frantic calls from local ITF representative Matt Purcell and cash from Mission manager Neville Manson sorted the situation, which was emblematic of the helpless situation the crew found themselves in of no fault of their own.

After 20 court appearances terms of sale were agreed on and a month long silent auction resulted in a US$8.5m bid being accepted, but to add further complication that sale fell through when payment was not received in time.

The now owners were awarded the tender for sale as the second highest bidder in the auction, getting the Fortune at 4% below the price appraised in January.

Now that the ship is sold and the crew are home, the task at hand is on the courts to prioritise the debts, and distribute the money accordingly.

The total amount sought is still unclear, with the Marshal still advertising for claims, but crew are likely to be high on the priority list for repayment according to the lawyer representing them in the court proceedings.