Controversy surrounded the German Olympic ship MS Deutschland, after the master of the vessel Andreas Jungblut wrote letter of protest over changing the ships flag.

Captain Andreas Jungblut wrote a letter to German President Joachim Gauck on behalf of his crew protesting plans by the German Deilmann shipping company to hoist the Maltese flag in place of the German one. He was told to leave the ship on Thursday evening by the owner, Bild newspaper reported.

“Dear Mr President … you can’t change a flag like you would an undershirt,” wrote Jungblut, according to the paper. After this letter owners of the ship asked Captain Andreas Jungblut to leave the ship and not to return, wrote the paper. The shipping company said the captain has been sent on “holiday.” 

Jungblut told the paper. “This is a uniquely dishonourable case in shipping, a captain being chased off the  ship,” 

Kornelia Kneissl Spokeswoman for Deilmann shipping said: “Captain Jungblut had not been chased off the vessel, he had come during his long-planned vacation on board. Then he was asked why he did not enjoy his vacation. That's what he probably regarded as an unfriendly eviction."

According to the owners changing the ship registration under a Maltese flag will save money. “We definitely want to change the ship register,” a shipping company spokesman told the paper. 

Ships that are registered under German flag have a right to sovereign protection in dangerous waters. They are also subject to German labour law and German crew requirements, all of which can push up running costs, wrote the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper on Friday.

German shipping companies often register their ships in Liberia, Marshall Islands and Antigua in order to cut costs. The union criticized the flagging because it meant for sailors lower salary  and longer hours. "A shipping company saves taxes and benefits and does not need to follow  the collective bargaining agreements," says Karl-Heinz Biesold, National Chairman of shipping. "3000 € sailor gets on the cruise ship at this time, after flagging he would get a maximum of 2000€." 

Biesold spoke after the incident with Captain Jungblut. "The management has told him clearly that he must leave the ship," he says. "We fear that is now being followed by dismissal." Young blood drives for decades for the shipping company. "If a captain is so deservedly tossed ashore, a sailor can also feel unsafe," said Biesold. The German Shipowners' Association says although the payment had nothing to do with the flag.

The mutiny in London has caused outrage and an outpouring of national pride at home in Germany.