Debt fight leaves crew stuck for months on ship off Georgia

(AP) — The crew of the Newlead Castellano already had reason to complain, having not been paid for roughly two months when the cargo ship sailed into Savannah to offload a shipment of imported sugar.

[...] U.S. marshals seized the 590-foot ship, forcing it to drop anchor off the Georgia coast and wait out a legal dispute between the vessel's owners and their creditors.

Nearly four months have passed and 15 crew members remain stuck on board a few miles out to sea, within view of the beach sands of Tybee Island but legally prohibited from setting foot on land because they are foreign nationals with limited visas.

Court records identified the buyer as Strategic Shipping Inc. A judge still must approve the sale, which Swimmer said could take a week or two, before the crew can return home.

Since being seized in April, the Newlead Castellano has made monthly trips into port in Savannah to refuel and restock supplies — mostly groceries such as chicken, fish, fruits and vegetables for the crew.

Swimmer said his company handles roughly 35 cases a year in which commercial ships get seized in disputed between creditors and their owners.