RUSSIAN sailors stranded on Teesside have finally flown home.

The seven remaining crew of the Vismark Gloria, which has been impounded since November, left the region in the early hours of yesterday.

Their flights were paid for by the German Seaman's Mission and the Mission to Seafarers, after efforts to persuade the ship's owners to pay them failed.

During a dispute between the crew and SHB Trading, acting on behalf of Lenya Enterprises, of Belize, two of its members went on hunger strike and the captain disappeared.

Ken Cornforth, North Tees lay chaplain, fears that scenario could be repeated if a new crew is brought in to keep watch on the 36-year-old vessel.

He said: "The situation was so bad we had to act to get the men off the ship and on their way home. Every possible means to persuade the company to pay the crew as per contract, had failed, even to providing essential food.

"It was a very delicate situation because we didn't want the company to be aware of what we were doing, in case they replaced the crew."

The Vismark Gloria's troubles began when it arrived from the Black Sea and was declared unseaworthy. Its crew was left to carry out repairs.

The sailors were left without food or money over Christmas, prompting an appeal by the seaman's missions.

Despite a change of management and many of the crew being sent home, the situation did not improve. Last month, the crew downed tools after receiving only £90 for a month-and-a-half's work.

German port chaplain Rosi Heimer, said: "We have all been very frustrated at every turn trying to help these seafarers."

Nobody from SHB Trading was available for comment.