Tacoma, WA—The actions of the Puget Sound Inspector from the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) with support from members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 23 helped to protect a group of vulnerable seafarers who were being grossly underpaid and who feared for their safety after receiving threats for standing up for their rights. On February 7th, seafarers aboard the ASL Uranus (IMO: 9317511), an ocean-going grain ship docked at an export grain facility in the Port of Tacoma, contacted ITF Inspector Jeff Engels to report that they were not being paid the proper wages. The crew, a mix of Vietnamese, Chinese, and Burmese nationals, are employed by a third-party hiring agency based in Yangon, Myanmar. The ship is owned by Agricore Group, a Chinese-based company, and is registered in Liberia. (....)