SEATTLE — The owner of a tugboat that was supposed to tow two retired Washington state ferries to Ecuador denied allegations he left his crew in a vulnerable position.
Four seafarers from South America were working in Washington on the Wycliffe, a tugboat that Nelson Armas owns. Armas bought two retired Washington state ferries and hired the crew to tow the vessels.
However, the tugboat was unable to tow the ferries due to a malfunction. That left the crew in the U.S. on work visas without a job. Immigration agents boarded the vessel last week and sent the crew home.
The International Transport Workers' Federation, who had been in contact with the four men, said the crew was stranded on the boat without enough food and were not paid on time.
The federation accused Armas of changing the tugboat's flag to evade more stringent U.S. labor and safety regulations.
Armas said that is not true.
"I am not a U.S. citizen," Armas said. "I am an Ecuadorian citizen so I can not manage a U.S. flag so at the moment that I bought the vessel the intention was to change the flag."
Armas denied his crew was left without supplies.
"I spent each week money for food, each week since they arrived here to Seattle," Armas said. "So there was food, and there was money and there was water."
Last week the crew returned home. Armas still wants to tow the retired ferries to Ecuador. He said he is working on a new plan.