A public hearing into seafarer conditions in Australia has heard how one master awarded food to crew based on their performance.

The Gladstone Observer cited International Transport Federation (ITF) inspector for Gladstone Sarah McGuire as saying she had inspected a Korean vessel at Hay Point with a Cambodian crew.

They worked between 14 and 16 hours in a closed hatch over two weeks for rations handed out depending on how their performance was viewed on a particular day.