A Korean owned fishing vessel berthed at Lyttelton Port in Christchurch has been arrested by the High Court, after claims its workers are being abused and underpaid.
The arrest of the Melilla 201 on Monday morning follows the seizure of its sister ship the Milella 203 in December last year.
The move means the ship must not leave port while the arrest order is in place.
The action was initiated by the Slave Free Seas charitable trust.
Trust spokesperson Craig Tuck says workers on the Milella 201 are owed about $1.4 million under New Zealand law.
He says the non payment or under payment of wages is considerable, and there are also concerns about the way some of the vessels are operating.
Mr Tuck says working conditions on the vessel are appalling and 12 workers have flown home to Indonesia to escape the turmoil.
The vessel is chartered by New Zealand company United Fisheries which says the workers will be paid what is outlined in their contracts, although that may not happen straight away.
Mr Tuck says it's possible either United Fisheries or the ship's owners might pay a bond for the vessel to be released.
