Trawler captain, crew, win €21,900 claim over unpaid salaries

The captain and crew of a fishing vessel have been awarded €21,900 after filing a case against the owners of the vessel over months of unpaid salaries.

The fishing trawler Lambusa II was detained in port in February 2009 when, on behalf of his crew, Captain Said Elsakka had filed a claim for €21,900 in unpaid salaries for the period spanning November 2008 to February 2009.

v of the case being filed.

The case had been struck off in May 2011, when both parties failed to turn up for a sitting, but was later revived.

In a judgment handed down today, Judge Silvio Meli, presiding over the First Hall of the Civil Court, observed that the court had been presented with the defendant's bank statements for the period and that the only receipt for payment that the court could confirm was €780 paid to the captain.

Quoting from case law, the judge pointed out that in the absence of a receipt or other evidence to the contrary, the presumption of non-payment should prevail. “It is abundantly proven that the defendant, although he claims to have made the payment owed – something very easy to do – failed to prove his allegation to the standard required at law.”

The court condemned the vessel's owners to pay Captain Elsakka and the crew €21,900 for outstanding salaries, together with court costs.