A foreign ship and its crew finally depart after being `stranded' for 14 months following an impasse over safety inspections.

OTARU, Hokkaido-For the crew of the Yang Xho, the nightmare is finally over.

More than a year ago, the Bolivian-registered cargo vessel arrived at Otaru port bearing a load of crabs. It intended to stay only a few days.

But then, bureaucratic limbo ensnarled the boat and its 15-member Ukrainian crew in Japan in a tangled knot involving safety violations and an unreachable owner who stopped paying their wages. The crew had to depend on the kindness of the locals to even eat.

But now, thanks to arduous negotiations by a transport group, the 1,077-ton ship has been allowed to leave.

Finally seeing their ``home'' for the past 14 months towed away on Feb. 24 for repairs in South Korea, crew members hugged their Japanese supporters on the wharf, thanking them for their help.

``I had almost given up. I am really grateful to the Japanese,'' said Vitaly Martynenka, 38. He flew home the next day with two fellow crew members; 12 others had left earlier. By then the three had received part of their wages, with a promise the rest would be paid later.

The Yang Xho had almost joined the fate of around 10 other foreign vessels left wrecked and abandoned on Japanese shores. Without the support of local residents, merchants and seamen's groups, the ship probably would still be in Otaru.

The fiasco began after the ship arrived from Russia on Dec. 1, 2003.

Tokyo at the time had stepped up port state controls-safety inspections. The move was not only for safety reasons, but also as a way to target North Korean ships, including the cargo-passenger boat Man Gyong Bong-92, against the backdrop of the abduction issue.

The transport ministry's inspectors found 13 safety-regulation violations on the Yang Xho. For one, the ship didn't have a lifeboat. For another, the Bolivian authorities' endorsement for the crew's licenses was missing.

Usually, when problems are found, the authorities mandate improvements and ship owners soon comply.

`I had almost given up.' VITALY MARTYNENKA Crew member of the Yang Xho

But the situation was different for the Yang Xho. Its owner was unreachable. The crew's wages were stopped.

Crew members were at a loss. The only money they got initially was 500 yen for meals per person per day. A Hokkaido business that had ordered the crab imports paid the money out of goodwill. The crew cooked borsch on board and killed time playing chess. They were allowed to go ashore during their long wait, however. They toured the city, over and over, on two bicycles the ship had.

``I visited all the temples in Otaru. I saw festivals as well,'' said Sergey Fishchenko, 36.

The crew had no idea who the owner, who resides in Belize, really was.

Tokyo sent inquiries to the Japanese Embassy in Bolivia, where the ship was registered. But it was in vain; ship registration was a mere formality.

The only connection was a man known as ``George,'' the owner's agent in the United States. But George, too, often failed to respond.

Eleven months passed without progress.

In October, the crew posted a placard in Japanese on the bow, appealing for help. Subsequent media coverage prompted local residents to action.

They sent supplies to the crew, including fruits, vegetables and soap. Some formed a support group. The All Japan Seamen's Union raised donations.

Fearing the ship might eventually be abandoned, Otaru city officials meanwhile wrote a letter to the owner, urging swift action. They handed it to the crew, but they had no way to deliver it.

The Japanese coordinators for the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) stepped in to negotiate with George.

Persuaded by the ITF, 12 crew members, including captain Viktor Sinitsin, left the ship for home. But the other three insisted they be paid back wages before leaving.

Last Christmas, citizens gave a party for them. Their presents included vodka and telephone cards to call home.

It was not until February that the ITF succeeded, at last, in getting, by way of George, a promise from the ship owner for wage payments and repairs in South Korea. The owner also paid back the costs of the crew's stay.

The plight of the Yang Xho highlights the broader problem of ships being abandoned on Japan's coasts.

Their disposal is costly. If the ships are not insured, the central and local governments often must pay for disposal, as in the case of a North Korean cargo ship wrecked off Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, in late 2002. That cost hundreds of millions of yen.

Since 2003, local entities have had to remove five such vessels. Carrying indemnity insurance has just become obligatory for ships of 100 tons or more.

The transport ministry has been increasing the number of port state controls, but safety inspections alone are far from a solution. Not all owners follow improvement orders; repairing old vessels is sometimes more costly than just procuring another ship.

Kishiro Sawa, a professor of transport economics at Yamaguchi University, says, ``Japanese ports could become a disposal site for worn-out vessels'' unless proper steps are taken.

``Inspections within territorial waters are generally allowed, and domestic legislation would make it possible to inspect them before they enter port,'' he said.(IHT/Asahi: March 12,2005)