US Marshals seize ship at Port of Sacramento over unpaid fuel payment

    SACRAMENTO (KOVR) -- U.S. Marshals seized a ship at the Port of Sacramento and detained its crew over an unpaid $400,000 fuel payment.

The Hong Kong-based China Spirit is stuck at the port in West Sacramento under arrest. Its Chinese crew of 21 is not allowed to leave the ship. The ship was seized on October 18.

I spoke to the captain who was only allowed to go as far as the end of the gangplank. He said he was warned by the ship owner that the ship could be seized as he was arriving from his last port in Ecuador.

Tim Campbell is the president of International Longshore Warehouse Union Local 18. He's also running for West Sacramento City Council.

Campbell's been working to protect the crew onboard through this legal process.

"My number one concern is safety," Campbell said. "To make sure the crew on the ship is being treated fair and safe, [to] make sure they have food stores, [and to] make sure their wages are being paid correctly and on time."

The ship seizure stems from a lawsuit filed in federal court. A judge approved the arrest warrant of the ship over claims filed against the ship owner and a separate company alleging a failure to pay $408,000 for fuel at a port in The United Arab Emirates.

"So these crew members are actually being held, essentially detained, for what somebody else has done," Campbell said.

This is only the second ship seizure at the Port of Sacramento in three decades, according to Campbell.

Once the legal dispute is resolved in court, the longshoremen will begin reloading rice onto this ship to be transported to Jordan.

An attorney for the plaintiffs said they believe payment for that fuel is now being processed.

This ship should be able to get on its way by the end of the week.