The Sea: Jan–Feb 2015

Issue 233 Jan/Feb 2015

Los artículos en español aparecen en las páginas 6 y 7

The Sea

Editor: Carly FieldsNews: David Hughes

The Sea is distributed free to seafarers through chaplains and seafarers’ centres. You can also arrange to receive it regularly at a cost of £3.50 or $5 per year (six issues). To find out more, contact:

Ben Alcraft, The Sea, The Mission to Seafarers, St Michael Paternoster Royal, College Hill, London, UK EC4R 2RL

Tel: +44 20 7248 5202

Email: [email protected]

www.missiontoseafarers.org

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Mediterranean refugee rescue ‘cuts’ cause concernpage 8

Plea to remember Somalia’s ‘forgotten hostages’ page 2

Статьи на русском языке приводятся на стр. 6 и 7

UK minimum wage guide published

Seafarers’ legal help ‘app’ released

Outcry over Sewol crew sentences page 3

Registered charity in England and Wales: 1123613

The Mission to Seafarers Scotland Limited,Registered charity: SC041938

SEAFARERS’ union Nautilus International has published a new version of its guidance for seafarers on their entitlement to the UK National Minimum Wage (NMW). The revised advice has been put together to reflect changes in the rules and to support the union’s Fair Ferries campaign against what it describes as the exploitation of low cost crews.

The leaflet says that seafarers working on UK-registered ships who carry out at least some work within UK waters and who normally live in the UK are entitled by law to the NMW.

The rules governing eligibility for those serving on non-UK ships or on UK ships who do not meet the core criteria are less clear – and depend largely on a seafarer being able to establish a sufficient individual link to the UK. Copies of the leaflet are being distributed to ships and seafarers’ centres around the UK and can also be obtained via the Nautilus website: www.nautilus.org

Founded in 1856, and entirely funded by voluntary donations, today’s Mission to Seafarers offers emergency assistance, practical support, and a friendly welcome to crews in 260 ports around the world. Whether caring for victims of piracy or providing a lifeline to those stranded in foreign ports, we are there for the globe’s 1.5 million merchant seafarers of all ranks, nationalities and beliefs.

The Mission to Seafarers

THE Mission to Seafarers has welcomed the launch of a service that will allow seafarers to access information on their legal rights anywhere in the world.

Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI) says its new ‘app’ for mobile phones and other electronic devices includes a unique ‘Find a Lawyer’ tool. This gives immediate access to a database of lawyers around the world who have signed up to the SRI Charter – a statement of good practice in the provision of legal services to seafarers – and who may be able to offer assistance to seafarers facing criminal prosecution.

Ken Peters, director of Justice and Public Affairs, said that the app was a valuable new resource that would offer robust legal advice to complement the support that had always been available from its chaplains at seafarers’ centres worldwide.

IN ITS latest response to the outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa,

the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has issued an infographic in six languages (http://tinyurl.com/q47xfe4)which shows the precautions to be taken by vessels calling at ports in countries affected by the virus.

S ince September, the IMO has been part of the international ad hoc Ebola Travel and Transport Task Force and is now working with other United Nations agencies a n d n o n - g o v e r n m e n t a l organisations to monitor the situation and provide timely information in response to the outbreak of the disease.

Crucially, IMO recommends that there should be no general ban on international travel or trade due to the Ebola virus. It cites the recommendations of the World Health Organization, (WHO) which advocates that the movement of ships, including the handling of cargo and goods, to and from affected areas, should continue as normal.

Some countries, however, have been taking a harder line. Seafarers’ union Nautilus International has raised concerns over reports that some coastal states have denied medical support for merchant ships where crew or passengers have been suspected of showing Ebola v i rus symptoms. In October, during talks at the International

Labour Organization (ILO)in Geneva, shipowner and government representatives heard reports of incidents in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean in which vessels had been refused access to a port or medical assistance because of fears crews may have been in contact with Ebola sufferers.

The union’s senior UK national secretary, Allan Graveson, said such actions were considered by most shipowners, seafarers and governments attending the meeting to be a greater threat to the lives of seafarers than Ebola in both the short and long term.

The union said it had

worked with shipowner representatives to develop ILO guidelines on communicable diseases in line with the occupational safety and health provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006.

The guidance stresses the need for seafarers to be given relevant advice on precaut ionary measures and that shipowners ensure appropriate precautions are taken. It also reminds countries of their obligations as port states to provide unhindered port entry and to ensure immediate medical support and advice and, if necessary, to evacuate seafarers.

Meanwhi le , sh ipping

companies and organisations have a l so g i ven d i r e c t assistance. The Liberian registry said it had used a $10,000 donation from major shipping group and user of the Liberian flag, Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) to procure medical supplies to help combat the spread of Ebola in Liberia.

The supplies, comprising e s sent ia l mate r ia l s and medical equipment such as PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) suits, gloves, goggles and respirators , arrived in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, on 5 November. They were shipped by air from the US free of charge by the transport company, TNT.

Support for seafarers in international Ebola response Shipping organisations speak out against denialof shore leave and refusal of medical support

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Free Ebola video issued to ships by Videotel

www.missiontoseafarers.org

LIABILITY insurer Steamship Mutual P&I Club and a panel of medical and other experts have worked with maritime e-learning leader Videotel to produce a 15-minute training programme, Ebola – Staying Safe, which is being distributed free of charge to the world’s merchant fleet.

It includes footage from West Africa and was produced in just eight weeks to ensure it contains the most up-to-date information. It explains what Ebola is, what its symptoms are and how the virus spreads. It also outlines the ways in which crew members can protect themselves and what steps masters, shipowners and ship managers can take to keep crew members

safe from harm. Videotel’s parent company, US-based KVH Industries, has created a website where all mariners can download the free video and an accompanying workbook.

KVH has also delivered the entire video programme to its IP-MobileCast to vessels worldwide, which will automatically receive the video for immediate viewing on board.

KVH says it is being aided in its video distribution efforts by seafarer agencies, including the International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN), which is promoting the video to some 450 seafarer centres around the world.

Launch of HRAS missing seafarers registerWORK is about to start on compiling an international register of missing seafarers, including fishers. The major project is being undertaken by Human Rights at Sea (HRAS), a not-for-profit resource for the international maritime community, with initial funding from Seafarers UK.

According to Seafarers UK, nobody knows how many seafarers are missing worldwide and the new database will be used to inform international maritime bodies, governments and the UN of the scale of the problem.

HRAS was founded by barrister David Hammond who said: “Despite Human Rights at Sea being a very young organisation, I was humbled by the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the proposal and the financial support provided

by donors in response to our request for modest start-up funding for this unique global programme.” He added that, with funding from Seafarers UK, HRAS was in a firm position to make the project a reality on behalf of the international seafaring community. “We hope that this vanguard initiative will subsequently prove to be an attractive, cost-effective and strategically important human-rights-based platform worthy of on-going international engagement and support.”

Seafarers UK’s director of grants, Dennis Treleaven, said: “The need for this is long overdue and it is great that we are able to work in partnership with HRAS to build an essential and comprehensive resource.”

Civil liberties should not be location dependent – Page 4

IMO says there should be no ban on shipping operations due to Ebola (Photo: Videotel)

PIRATE attacks worldwide have fallen for the third consecutive year, according to the latest piracy report from the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

The IMB’s 2014 third-quarter global piracy report notes a total of 178 incidents up to October last year, down from 352 for the same period in 2013. A total of 17 vessels were hijacked, 124 were boarded and ten were fired upon. There were 27 further reports of attempted attacks.

“It’s encouraging to see the huge decrease in maritime piracy and armed robbery over the last few years, thanks mainly to international navies deterring pirates off East Africa, and improved onboard security,” said IMB director, Pottengal Mukundan. “However, there has been a worrying new rise in attacks against small coastal tankers in South-East Asia. We advise small tankers in particular to remain vigilant in these waters and report all attacks and suspicious small craft to the IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre.”

The Centre warns that gangs of thieves armed with knives and guns are making South-East Asian waters increasingly dangerous for small tankers carrying products such as gasoil

or marine diesel oil. Boarding the ship at sea, pirates hold the crew hostage for a short time while they unload all or part of the cargo, which they then use, or sell locally. Of the six vessels hijacked worldwide in the third quarter of 2014, five were in South-East Asia.

Indonesia recorded 72 incidents between January and September, including 67 armed robberies and five hijackings. In two separate hijackings off Pulau Bintan in September, 26 of the crew were taken hostage. Waters off Pulau Bintan saw more attacks than any other area in the world, with 27 incidents reported. The incidents were low level thefts or attempted thefts from vessels at anchor or berthed.

The number of incidents reported in Nigeria has, however, dropped noticeably, down to 13 in the first nine months of 2014, from 29 in the same period in 2013. Elsewhere in the Gulf of Guinea, Ghana recorded four incidents in 2014 compared with no incidents in 2013. This includes the hijacking of two product tankers – and the theft of their cargoes – and a fishing vessel, and 86 crew members being taken hostage in the first nine months of 2014.

2 the sea jan/feb 15

Car carrier rescues yacht’s crew

Masters’ night orders ‘are important’MUTUAL liability insurer the London P&I Club says that masters’ night order books are important for the efficient and safe performance of a ship, particularly during port calls, but are not always properly written up.

The Club says that night orders should include when to call the master, giving him time to be ready before reaching the pilot station or taking the controls, and calling the pilot station to confirm ETA and berthing prospects.

“Masters’ night orders should also seek to ensure that day crew are called at a reasonable time so that items such as anchors are cleared, pilot boarding arrangements are safely in place, and flags/call signs are ready to be run up.”

Asphalt Venture crew released after four years but 30 seafarers still held

Plea to remember Somalia’s ‘forgotten hostages’

JAPANESE shipping company K Line’s Michigan Highway rescued a crew of four from a yacht with rudder trouble in the Atlantic Ocean on 13 November. The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Delgada, Portugal, requested the car carrier to proceed to the yacht Hunter, which had sent a distress call. The ship rescued the crew, who disembarked at Livorno port in Italy a week later. None of the yacht’s crew were injured.

MCA’s ‘hypocritical’ prosecutionSEAFARERS’ union Nautilus International has branded a decision by the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to prosecute the master of a wind farm support vessel, following a collision with a naval target, as “somewhat hypocritical ... given the standards it, as the regulator, sets for vessels and personnel serving in this sector”. The master was fined £1,500 and told to pay £8,082 in costs, plus a victim surcharge of £120.

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Seafarer murderedby pirates A THIRD engineer, shot during a pirate attack on a Vietnam-flagged bitumen tanker on a passage from Singapore to Go Dau, Vietnam, in December, died of his wounds shortly afterwards. A second crew member was injured during the attack but later recovered.

The Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (VMRCC) guided the tanker crew in administering first aid while the Singapore search and rescue authority sent a helicopter to take the casualties ashore.

Importance of social responsibility SHIPPING companies should take the concept of corporate social responsibility seriously, the former head of the International Maritime Organization, Efthimios Mitropoulos, has told the Capital Link Shipping & Offshore CSR Forum. He said: “Shipowners need to be aware that... these are now becoming key issues for many of their customers.”

WHILE the recent release of seven seafarers held in Somalia has been welcomed,

the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has highlighted the plight of those still held hostage.

IMB director Pottengal Mukundan warned that, with just ten piracy incidents reported off Somalia by the beginning of November last year, there was a risk that international attention would turn away from the hostages still being held for ransom by suspected Somali pirates. He added that seafarers should not underestimate the continuing threat from Somali piracy.

In late October, the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP) welcomed the news that seven Indian seafarers who had been held hostage since their ship, the Asphalt Venture, was hijacked in the Somali

Basin on 28 September 2010, had been released and were safe in Kenya.

The 1991-built, Panama-flagged, 3,884 dwt general cargoship had a crew of 15 when she was hijacked. In April 2011 the vessel, with eight of her crew, was released, while the remaining seven Indian seafarers were detained ashore.

According to the MPHRP, the release of these men was arranged following lengthy negotiations and after a “modest payment” was made to cover the logistical and transport costs of the group holding the men.

The MPHRP chairman, Peter Swift, commented: “After more than four years in captivity we are delighted for them and their families after the terrible ordeal and hardship that they have suffered. The tremendous efforts and generous support of all those who

helped to secure their release and safe return are greatly appreciated, including the team at [law firm] Holman Fenwick Willan who stepped in on a pro bono basis to help make this happen.”

It is believed that 30 seafarers and fishers are still being held hostage by Somali pirates. Some have been held for more than four and a half years and the others for more than two and half years. The MPHRP said: “It is thought that the pirates hold these men in the mistaken belief that substantial money can be raised to pay a ransom, whereas, in fact, [those] working to free these people are charitable organisations with very limited resources. The United Nations and the international maritime community have called for their prompt release and for support and assistance to be given to them and their families.”

Praise for extension of anti-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden (Photo: EU Naval Force)

IMB: pirate attacks continue to decline

EUROPEAN shipowners have welcomed a decision to extend the mandate of the EU anti-piracy naval mission off the coast of Somalia both in terms of scope and duration.

EU NAVFOR ATALANTA will now run until 12 December 2016. It will include several new secondary objectives designed to combat piracy and its root causes more effectively by co-ordinating with, and providing assistance to, other EU initiatives in the area, as well as monitoring and reporting on illegal fishing activities.

While Somali piracy has been kept in check recently,

the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) says it has “by no means been eradicated and the threat of hijackings is still very real”.

ECSA adds: “A combination of factors has in the last few years contributed to the pronounced drop in the number of attempted and successful attacks, namely the use of private armed guards on board ships, the presence of international naval units patrolling the area, as well as the increased use of improved self-defence measures by vessels transiting the High Risk Area.”

European Union recognises worth of piracy patrols

UK seafarers under heavy regulation

Seafarers are one of the UK’s most heavily regulated working sectors with up to five governmental agencies dedicated to law enforcement. According to Bartons Solicitors, in 2010 six cases were prosecuted by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, but this jumped to 14 in 2013.

Exceptional bravery recognisedONE year to the day, after surviving a fire and explosions which threatened the lives of 32 people on board his vessel, Capt Andreas Kristensen and the crew of the Britannia Seaways received the 2014 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea, at a special ceremony held at the International Maritime Organization’s headquarters in London.

Accepting the IMO medal and certificate on behalf of his crew, Capt Kristensen said the award should also be shared with the passengers, the Norwegian soldiers who assisted the crew during the fire-fighting, and the Norwegian rescue teams and fire-fighters who supported them.

jan/feb 15 the sea 3

Jailing of master, officers and crew of ill-fatedSouth Korean ferry ‘not a fair outcome’

Industry outcry over Sewol crew sentences

Fishing boat ‘rammed’ off Vietnam

THE master, three senior officers and 11 other crew members of the South Korean ferry Sewol, which

sank in April with the loss of more than 300 lives, have been given long prison sentences, prompting several international organisations to raise concerns.

Prosecutors had called for the master, Lee Joon-seok, to be sentenced to death. He was charged with murder by causing the disaster. He was also accused of failing to organise evacuation efforts, and violating maritime law by leaving the ship before passengers.

Although he was acquitted of murder at the end of a five-month trial, Capt Lee was found guilty of violating ‘seamen’s law’ and abandonment causing death and injury, and was sentenced to 36 years in prison. Park Gi-ho, the ferry’s chief engineer, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 30 years. The remaining 13 crew members – including the chief officer and second mate – were sentenced to between five and 20 years.

Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI) executive director Deirdre Fitzpatrick said: “This disaster has been beset with tragedies and sadness from the beginning. The

reported comments of the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, in the aftermath of the disaster, that the conduct of the master and some crew was ‘like an act of murder’ will have added to the heightened emotional context and might have made it difficult for any court to be dispassionate.”

In an initial response she said the “complex judgement” required careful consideration before any fair comment could be made on the court proceedings, the convictions and the sentences.

She added: “The ramifications of this case are far ranging, raising many questions regarding the circumstances of this particular ferry disaster and the ferry industry internationally. These ramifications need to be explored over the ensuing months both nationally and internationally so that lessons can be learned to prevent as far as possible a repetition of this tragedy.”

The general secretary of seafarers’ union Nautilus International, Mark Dickinson, was less restrained. He said he was appalled at the severity of the sentences. “From the outset, there has been a concerted drive to criminalise the officers and crew in this incident,” he

said, “and these extreme penalties take the practice of scapegoating seafarers to an unprecedented level”.

He continued: “We have consistently raised concerns about whether the crew would be given a fair trial. They weren’t and we did not expect a fair outcome. This isn’t justice – it’s an act of shifting responsibility from a government safety agency and the operating company for failings and outright illegality. Thus the sentences meted out are about assuaging understandable public anger and seem grossly unfair given the other known mitigating factors that have been highlighted in this case.”

Ken Peters, director of Justice and Public Affairs at the Mission to Seafarers, added: “As a result of this disaster many people are in great need of pastoral counselling and care. This is the focus for the MtS Port Chaplain, to help the healing process for all involved. In seeking justice there must also be the possibility of compassion, for all the victims, passengers and crew. It is very good to know that Port Chaplain Simon and his ecumenical colleagues were quick to respond to the human needs.”

VIETNAMESE authorities in Da Nang are inves-tigating the alleged ramming and sinking of a local fishing boat on 26 October by a Li-beria-flagged merchant vessel.

All 13 crew on the fishing vessel, BD 96959, were rescued by the Vietnamese coast-guard.

The fishing boat’s skipper and owner, Vo Van Lay, said he would sue for compensation for his loss, including the loss of the ves-sel – said to be worth over $235,350 – about ten tons of seafood which was on the ship, and the equivalent of $14,120 in cash kept on the boat.

Paris MoU bans ship for two yearsTHE Moldovia-flagged general cargoship, the Mansour M, IMO number 7600586, has been banned for a second time from ports within the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control region for two years after multiple detentions. The ship broke detention in Rhodes anchorage on 3 November.

The vessel was initially banned by Greece in 2011 and for a second time by Slovenia in 2013.

UK ‘sceptical’ about cuts in seatimeTHE head of the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), Sir Alan Massey, says the MCA is “very sceptical” of calls to reduce the seatime cadets must do before they can gain their officer of the watch certificates.

Sir Alan told the country’s All-Party Ports and Maritime Parliamentary Group that the aviation industry had taken simulation, which could be seen as an alternative to real experience, to “huge lengths” and the quality of simulation was “extraordinarily high now”, but he warned that there was growing evidence of problems with electronic navigation systems, including training to use them.

Call for more female Filipino seafarersTHE Philippines’ Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) is urging Filipino women to pursue careers in the male-dominated ship-ping sector, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Of the 810,481 seaman’s books issued during the past four years 47,038 were for women. Reporting on Marina’s “She to Sea” programme, the newspaper quoted the agency’s deputy administrator for planning, Nicasio Conti, as saying that an increasing number of women were going to sea.

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MYANMAR’S Marine Administration received an average of three complaints a month in the first 10 months of last year from would-be seafarers stranded in foreign countries after paying a service fee to a job agency to place them on board a ship, the Myanmar Times reports.

However, a senior official of the admin-istration said, in many cases it could take no action against the agencies, either because the complainant lacked strong evidence or the agency was not regis-tered with the adminis-tration.

He added that in only three of more than 30 cases submitted last year had the administra-tion been able to secure compensation for the complainant.

Myanmar seafarers stranded by agencies

Repercussions of OW Bunker bankruptcyIN EARLY November the Danish-based major global marine fuel trader and supplier, OW Bunker, suddenly announced major losses through alleged fraud in its Singapore office and risk management strategies that had gone wrong, sending shock waves throughout the shipping and bunkering industries.

The company’s collapse has caused massive problems. The firm had been expanding aggressively worldwide and was estimated to account for seven per

cent of the global marine fuel market. Its sudden failure meant that very large sums of money were left unpaid and, because of the often complex nature of the transactions, who should pay will, in many cases, be a matter decided by courts around the world.

Consequently, many companies are taking legal action to protect their interests, and ships – mainly bunker tankers – have been arrested to secure payments.

The bunker industry had been

aware that a negative announcement from the company was expected because of falling oil prices. It was expected to announce a reduced profit forecast but the news on 5 November that the company was in really deep trouble caught everybody off guard.

It disclosed a $125 million “fraud loss” in a Singapore subsidiary and also risk management losses of the same amount. Three days later the company’s main operating subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy.

South Korean trawler sinking tragedy FIFTY-THREE South Korean, Filipino and Indonesian fishermen died when a trawler, Oryong 501, sank in the Bering Sea in December. Seven people were rescued: five Indonesians, one Russian fisheries inspector, and one Filipino. The South Korea-flagged vessel sank off the Chukotka Peninsula in the Russian Far East.

The 36-year-old trawler’s fish hold apparently flooded in bad weather, causing her to list and then sink rapidly before any distress call could be made. The seven survivors were in a life-raft but it appears the rest of the

crew were unable to reach the other life-rafts which were found by search teams to be empty.

South Korea’s Prime Minister Chung Hong-won said on hearing of the sinking: “The unfortunate accident truly breaks my heart. Above all, I pray the deceased rest in peace and hope that the missing people are quickly rescued.”

However, extensive searches by Russian vessels and South Korean aircraft failed to find further survivors.

The bodies of 21 of the crew had been recovered by mid-December,

the majority of them Indonesians.The Spanish-built trawler was owned by Sajo Industries. Korean fishing companies actively recruit Indonesian crew members who process the catches.

The sinking of the Oryong 501 was South Korea’s second major maritime disaster last year, following the April sinking of the ferry Sewol with the loss of 304 lives.

After the loss of the Sewol the country’s government pledged to tighten maritime regulations and ship safety inspections.

Ransom payments ‘still legal’BRITISH insurance companies will still be able to pay ransoms for the release of hijacked ships and kid-napped crew as long as the money does not go to terrorists. Mar-itime lawyer Waltons & Morse says that the UK’s new Counter-Ter-rorism and Security law will not change the position. The new law has been passed to stop payments being made to free hostages being held by terrorist groups. When the new law was first proposed the shipping industry was worried that it would stop all ransom payments but this has turned out not to be the case.

Sentencing of the Sewol crew might have been influenced by “heightened emotional context” (Photo: Reuters)


NEWS MICHAEL GREY

CARLY FIELDS

Civil liberties should not be location dependent

Cheap ships equal cheap tradeThe cost of shipping today is a fraction of the price it was just a century ago, but have we slipped too far down the economical ladder? Michael Grey asks if shipping has become too cheap

SIX months from its launch and the Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) initiative is powering

ahead in its goal of ensuring that human rights apply at sea as equally as they do on land.

The platform is in the final stages of developing a flagship pro-gramme for globally listing missing seafarers and fishers on a state-by-state basis via a simple to use online database.

“The concept itself is very simple and HRAS assesses that the effect of public access to such a source of col-lated information highlighting the plight of lost seafarers and fisher-men, including the support to fam-ilies by the profiling of a missing individual, will be a powerful tool to help, at the very least, to ensure international awareness of the loss,” David Hammond, founder of HRAS tells The Sea. “Importantly, it will also act as a platform to keep indi-vidual cases alive in the minds of the families, in the consciousness of the maritime industry and through-out the international community.”

It’s just one concept that the fledgling initiative is fervently working on. In fact, so wide-rang-ing has its remit become that Mr Hammond has extended its initial timeline to achieve its aims from three years to 15 years.

“Six months ago I would have never envisaged such a positive response to the emerging HRAS platform, to the scope of our in-

tended work and to our expanding international profile in support of explicitly advocating human rights obligations, protections and reme-dies for seafarers on a global basis,” he says.

Maritime welfare organisa-tions, religious groups, academics, maritime lawyers, EU refugee and migrant organisations, civil society organisations, maritime NGOs and even the maritime security industry association have all been highly supportive of HRAS. Mr Hammond would like to widen this net of supporters to include shipowners, charterers, insurers and related bod-ies, as he has yet to see any detailed engagement from those camps.

“I believe that the positive responses say it all, though I refuse to be complacent. Meantime, our door is always open to all industry, government and civil society sectors to become engaged with our work, even if just in principle. In short why wouldn’t you, especially if you agree with our foundation proposi-tion that ‘Human rights apply at sea as equally as they do on land’?”

Seafarers have always been afforded the same rights as those on land, but there has historically been a lack of awareness of the scope and detail of those rights and a failing to explicitly include those rights in in-ternational maritime conventions. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with its 30 articles applies to all persons, whether they

are on land or at sea, but elsewhere you have to infer their application.

“HRAS feels that application of human rights provisions through implication and interpretation is simply not sufficient for such an important subject, and one that applies to us all. A key point is that until the HRAS organisation was created in April 2014, there had not been an international platform ex-plicitly raising the maritime human rights issue across all sectors and querying why the industry was not doing more to explicitly advance human rights awareness, education and engagement on behalf of seafar-ers as a collective body.”

HRAS is planning to release a model Maritime Human Rights Impact Assessment once it has cemented relationships with the key international organisations that currently lead developments in this area of business and human rights implementation.

“We have had social and envi-ronment impact assessments as part of commercial contractual agree-ments for many decades, so why not a Human Rights Impact Assess-ment? Such assessments are used widely in the likes of the extractives industry, highlighting potential abuses, lack of both practical and policy safeguards and effective rem-edies. Our aim for this area of HRAS documentary development is to provide a workable document from the outset.”

Carly Fields speaks with Human Rights at Sea founder David Hammond about his drive to remove wide discrepancies between the application of human rights on and offshore

HOW many people ever think of the cost of shipping their goods all

over the world and the amaz-ing bargain represented by sea transport? Shippers, the people who use ships, get very angry when the sea carrier attempts to put the price up – citing congestion in ports or perhaps the price of fuel – and there is a terrible argument about how this can be justified. But in real-ity shipping has never been so cheap. Indeed, it is said that the cost of sending a ton of cargo on one of the old tea clippers between Shanghai and London in the 1860s was 60 times the price of moving that weight between the same ports today.

Scale economies from giant ships with enormous produc-tivity keep the price of sea carriage at bargain basement levels, which it can be argued is a huge incentive to world trade. Nobody is deterred by the cost of shipping from importing or exporting their goods, which is why components destined for a product like a car are sourced from all over the world, and

why low value cargoes like coal or iron ore can be carried 10,000 miles between the mine

and the steelworks and nobody gives it a second thought.

We probably don’t celebrate

Fuel changeover needs careful handling

RECOGNISING the special needs of seafarers, a meeting of experts has agreed on guidelines to assist governments in implementing the occupational safety and health provisions (OSH) set down in the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006), the International Labour Organization (ILO) reports.

Intended to provide supplementary practical information to be reflected in national laws and other measures, the OSH guidelines deal with the special maritime working environment. The guidelines therefore cover: demanding physical working conditions, potentially hazardous tasks, isolation, long hours of work, rigid organisational structures, and high levels of stress and fatigue.

The vice-chairman of the

employers’ group at ILO, Tim Springett, said: “We are very pleased with the outcome of the work of the expert meeting this week. We believe in promoting compliance with the MLC 2006 and the new guidelines that we have agreed will make an effective contribution to this.”

The guidelines were discussed by a total of 102 delegates, including six government, six shipowner and six seafarer experts, observers and advisers from 42 other governments, and observers from inter-governmental organisations and non-governmental organisations.

The meeting, held in Geneva from 13-17 October, addressed all areas of seafarers’ occupational safety and health, including topics such as alcohol and drug abuse, violence and harassment,

and infectious diseases. The document details

responsibilities for governments, shipowners and seafarers related to accident and illness prevention practices, implementation, training, and emergency and accident response.

Also noting that he too was pleased with the experts’ results, Patrice Caron, executive vice-president of the Seafarers’ International Union of Canada, said: “There will be many challenges to implement occupational safety and health in the maritime sector. The guidelines should provide assistance.

“Minimising risk is a fundamental concern to seafarers and for the other persons working on ships.”

The guidelines are available at: http://tinyurl.com/oa26g84

The CSCL Globe displaces smaller ships which ‘cascade’ down causing ports problems (Photo: Jeon Ho-sung, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co)





SINCE 1 January many chief engineers have had a new headache: switching from heavy fuel oil (HFO) to marine gas oil (MGO) when entering Emission Control Areas (ECAs).

Classification society DNV GL said that, if not handled with care, the switching over process could put equipment at risk and increase operational costs. In its new publication, Sulphur Limits 2015 – Guidelines to Ensure Compliance, DNV GL experts provide a general overview of the regulatory background, describe potential difficulties associated with the fuel changeover procedure and discuss which technologies can best help vessels fulfil the new requirements.

In addition, DNV GL has developed a ship-specific Fuel Change-Over Calculator (FCO) to help shipowners and operators determine the ideal parameters for their vessel’s fuel changeover.

Ships operating in an ECA now have to use fuel that does not contain more than 0.10 per cent sulphur (MARPOL Annex VI). Switching to MGO is currently the most viable option for following the new threshold limit. This may appear to be a simple task, DNV GL notes, but it cautions that the changeover procedure actually requires significant attention from crews during operation, as well as extensive onboard preparations before the entry-into-force date.

“Taking into account variables such as a vessel’s fuel system layout, any constraints on temperature and the variable sulphur content of

fuels, the FCO Calculator can significantly reduce the risk of human error during the preparation of the changeover process,” says Jörg Lampe, senior project engineer risk & safety, systems engineering at DNV GL.

The software uses a complex numerical simulation that, according to Mr Lampe, ensures a cost-efficient, reliable fuel changeover and can also help demonstrate compliance.

Factors such as the temperature and viscosity of the two fuels, as well as potential incompatibilities, are critical to performing the changeover procedure successfully. As the operating temperatures of HFOs and MGOs differ by about 100 degrees Celsius, the changeover may cause a rapid fall in temperature and increase the danger of thermal shock to the equipment. Fuel systems also have to account for the difference in viscosity during the operation, in order to avoid fuel pump failures and leakages. The fact that HFO and MGO are mixed in all ratios during the changeover procedure increases the risk of the fuels becoming incompatible. This may clog filters, causing the engine to shut down.

Such complications can be avoided by preparing detailed guidelines for the fuel changeover, training crews to take a measured and careful approach to the procedure and by making informed decisions about the capabilities of a vessel. DNV GL’s guidelines are available for download on the DNV GL website: www.dnvgl.com/maritime/Low-sulphur-operation.aspx

New MLC guidelines ease implementation

MAJOR European ferry company Stena Line says it will be the first operator in the world to run a large passenger ferry on methanol, drastically reducing emissions compared with today’s standard fuel.

The company says: “Methanol has the potential to be an important fuel for the shipping industry in the future. The emissions are similar to using LNG but the need for infrastructure is much less and handling is simpler.”

Stena Line has decided to use the new fuel on one of its ships

sailing between Gothenburg and Kiel. Early in 2015 the 240 metre long, 1,500 passenger capacity ferry, the Stena Germanica, will become the first such ship in the world to run on methanol. The project is being undertaken in co-operation with engine manufacturer Wärtsilä, the port of Gothenburg, the port of Kiel and the world’s largest methanol producer and supplier, the Methanex Corporation. The engine will be dual fuel, using methanol as the vessel’s main fuel but with the ability to use marine

gas oil as a back-up. Methanol is a clear, colourless biodegradable fuel that can be produced from natural gas, coal, biomass or even carbon dioxide (CO2).

Methanol plays a key role in the energy sector as a clean and cost competitive alternative fuel and energy resource. By using methanol the emissions of sulphur (SOx) will be reduced by about 99 per cent, and those of nitrogen (NOx) by 60 per cent, particulates (PM) by 95 per cent and carbon dioxide (CO2) by 25 per cent compared with today’s fuel.

Stena Line takes methanol plunge

European ferry operator will be the first to use the new fuel (Photo: Stena Line)


Civil liberties should not be location dependent

Cheap ships equal cheap tradeThe cost of shipping today is a fraction of the price it was just a century ago, but have we slipped too far down the economical ladder? Michael Grey asks if shipping has become too cheap

are on land or at sea, but elsewhere you have to infer their application.

“HRAS feels that application of human rights provisions through implication and interpretation is simply not sufficient for such an important subject, and one that applies to us all. A key point is that until the HRAS organisation was created in April 2014, there had not been an international platform ex-plicitly raising the maritime human rights issue across all sectors and querying why the industry was not doing more to explicitly advance human rights awareness, education and engagement on behalf of seafar-ers as a collective body.”

HRAS is planning to release a model Maritime Human Rights Impact Assessment once it has cemented relationships with the key international organisations that currently lead developments in this area of business and human rights implementation.

“We have had social and envi-ronment impact assessments as part of commercial contractual agree-ments for many decades, so why not a Human Rights Impact Assess-ment? Such assessments are used widely in the likes of the extractives industry, highlighting potential abuses, lack of both practical and policy safeguards and effective rem-edies. Our aim for this area of HRAS documentary development is to provide a workable document from the outset.”

HRAS is also developing voluntary Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) documentation to allow companies to demonstrate that they take human rights and protections seriously.

Longer term, Mr Hammond has a vision of the subject of maritime human rights being “explicitly spo-ken about, taught and engaged with” throughout the maritime environ-ment by all states within a 10-15 year period.

“If, at the very least, I can succeed in providing a transparent platform for that discussion to be advanced at government, business and individual levels, then I believe HRAS will have delivered a small, but tangible result for the benefit of the global maritime community.”

He acknowledges that as an en-tity, HRAS is both new and unprov-en and that some seafarers may be sceptical as to its aims and objectives. However, it is becoming increas-ingly recognised as a much-needed resource and platform of project development and advocacy for hu-man rights, serving to better the lot of those who work in the maritime environment.

“I would therefore ask the sea-farers reading this that they support HRAS if only in principle, support its concept and where able, its projects. As for help to HRAS, please consider following our social media feeds on Facebook, Twitter or ‘favourite’ our news page and follow our progress.

“Most importantly, I would ask

for this article to be passed on to spread the word that HRAS, along with other global welfare organisa-tions and entities, is working hard to better the conditions for those operating at the sharp end of the business.”

Mr Hammond is no stranger to the shipping industry, having spent 22 years at the ‘coalface’, as he puts it, with the Royal Navy.

Having served as a navigating officer, he has undertaken many watches and has an in-depth under-

standing of the issues facing those serving at sea. Ultimately, through HRAS, he wants to ensure that seafarers, in whatever capacity they serve, are not ignorant of the rights that they should be afforded while at work.

Carly Fields speaks with Human Rights at Sea founder David Hammond about his drive to remove wide discrepancies between the application of human rights on and offshore

and the steelworks and nobody gives it a second thought.

We probably don’t celebrate

this cost effective and econom-ical shipping as much as we ought; in fact, like the water

we drink or the electricity that lights our homes, we take it all for granted, only noticing it when the service is, for some reason, interrupted.

But it can also be argued that shipping is too cheap, and the earnings from all these vessels carrying world trade are really insufficient to run them in a decent and self-respecting way, with sufficient seafarers aboard them. Then, instead of a tiny crew rattling around in a gigantic ship, with everyone dropping from fatigue and try-ing to manipulate their hours of rest, there would be enough of them to enjoy more of the social side of seafaring. If there was more money coming into the industry from the users of ships, paying a proper rate for the job, ship operators wouldn’t be desperately scrutinising the manning costs, wondering whether the crew could be re-placed with somebody cheaper, under an alternative flag.

Shipping is, of course, a market in which earnings are dictated by supply and demand and because shipowners have

tended to build too many ships, freight rates are always strug-gling and profits remain low. It is their own fault, as owners tend to build ships when they are cheap to buy, regardless of the demand for them. Then, until world trade picks up sufficiently for the freight rates to recover, they are stuck with those ships and will try and operate them as cheaply as possible. Because nobody ever seems to learn from their mis-takes, the shipbuilders with no orders lower their prices and the owners rush off to order more.

The situation is certainly not assisted by governments helping to support their ship-yards – of which there are far too many in the world – or attractive finance being made readily available for anyone looking to order. It is also worth remembering that ships have long lives, which means they probably hang around for longer than they should. Unlike previous generations of ships, which could easily be laid up when demand for them was low, modern vessels are stuffed

with sophisticated electronics and other equipment that needs to be properly maintained.

Everyone in the industry knows the problem, but it is very difficult to do anything about it. One owner’s “lack of self-restraint” is another owner’s “wise investment” and it is fascinating to listen to owners who have just completed their building plans loudly criticising those who have announced their orders for new ships.

Reduced operating costs, whether it is aboard 18,000 teu containerships or 400,000 dwt very large bulk carriers, is the real reason for these giant vessels, which surely cannot get very much larger without hav-ing to dredge the Malacca Strait! These monsters can carry a box, or a ton of Brazilian ore, far more economically than ships of half the size, which, only a few years ago, were the giants of their day. Of course, there are environmental benefits, but it is the unit costs which really make the difference and keep the shippers in a permanent state of delight.

We always focus our at-tention upon the very biggest ships, like China Shipping Container Lines’ CSCL Globe (pictured) which, at 19,000 teu is now the world’s largest, but we should also remember that she will displace smaller ships which will be ‘cascaded’ down into other routes, displacing in their turn more modestly sized ships.

Port managers, of course, will be tearing their hair out, wondering how they can accommodate the ships which have been cascaded down into their ports. They will need deeper channels and bigger cranes, more land area to stack the boxes and if they cannot lay their hands on these things they may go out of business as the bigger ships will simply bypass them. It is the price of progress.

All of which, if you think about it, can be laid at the door of those misers who will not pay a decent rate for the shipment of their goods. But why would they, when shippers have so much choice?

The CSCL Globe displaces smaller ships which ‘cascade’ down causing ports problems (Photo: Jeon Ho-sung, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co)





HRAS’ David Hammond has been encouraged by the positive response from the industry


JUSTICE MATTERS BY DOUGLAS STEVENSON

Seafarers’ rights still apply on non-MLC 2006 ships MARITIME Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006) is an important international agreement for seafarers, providing them with comprehensive and enforceable international standards for decent working and living conditions. So far, 64 countries representing 80 per cent of the world’s fleet have ratified MLC 2006.

Most of the world’s seafarers enjoy MLC 2006’s protections, but what about seafarers employed on vessels registered in countries that have not ratified it?

MLC 2006 is not binding international law in countries that have not ratified it. A significant 20 per cent of the world’s tonnage is registered in countries where MLC 2006 is not binding, including China, Hong Kong, India, and the US. But, through Port State Control, MLC 2006 standards can be enforced on all ships – even on those registered in countries that have not ratified it.

The flag state (the country where a ship is registered) has primary responsibility for implementing and enforcing MLC 2006 on ships. The flag state must make sure that its national standards are consistent with MLC 2006. Flag states are allowed to have standards that are slightly different from the exact MLC 2006 requirements, so long as they are substantially

equivalent to them. In addition, flag states must inspect all of its vessels that are subject to MLC 2006 and issue Maritime Labour Certificates to those vessels of 500 gross tons or over. The Maritime Labour Certificate verifies the vessel’s compliance with the Convention.

Flag states that have not ratified MLC 2006 do not have to ensure that their laws and regulations comply with MLC 2006. They do not have to inspect their vessels for compliance with MLC 2006 and they do not issue Maritime Labour Certificates. Seafarers on ships registered in those countries cannot expect their ship’s flag state to enforce MLC 2006.

They can, however, look to port states for help. Countries where MLC 2006 is in force have responsibilities that apply within their territory in addition to on their ships.

A key MLC 2006 enforcement mechanism is for countries to enforce the Convention on foreign ships in their ports through Port State Control. MLC 2006 gives port states authority to inspect all foreign vessels in their ports for compliance with the Convention. Port states must not give an advantage to ships from countries that have not ratified MLC 2006 over ships from countries that have. In other words, port states can

require foreign vessels registered in countries that have not ratified MLC 2006 to comply with it while in their ports.

When a ship is in a port of a country that has ratified MLC 2006, it is subject to a port state control inspection. Seafarers have considerable capacity to ensure that MLC 2006 standards are followed on their ship, irrespective of whether it is registered in a country that has ratified it. All seafarers on ships in ports of countries where MLC 2006 is in force may report convention violations to an authorised officer (usually a Port State Control officer), and the authorised officer must investigate the complaint.

In addition, any person with an interest in the safety of a ship, including the crew’s health and safety – such as a port chaplain – can make a complaint to Port State Control about specific living and working conditions that do not conform to MLC 2006. Upon receiving a complaint, the Port State Control officer may investigate it. If the complaint alleges a clear hazard to seafarers’ health, safety or security or if the reported deficiencies are a serious breach of the Convention, including seafarers’ rights, the Port State Control officer has an obligation to investigate it.

Los derechos de los marineros todavía están vigentes para barcos fuera MLC 2006Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006) es un importante acuerdo internacional para marineros mediante el cual se les facilitan una serie de completos estándares internacionales aplicables en aras de unas condiciones de trabajo y de vida dignas. Hasta la fecha, 64 países (que representan el 80 % de la flota mundial) han ratificado este Convenio.

La mayoría de los marineros del mundo goza de las protecciones MLC 2006, ¿pero qué sucede con aquellos que se encuentren empleados en barcos registrados en países que no lo hayan ratificado?

MLC 2006 no es legislación vinculante en aquellos países que no hayan procedido a su ratificación. Un importante 20 % del tonelaje mundial se registra en países en los que el convenio no tiene carácter vinculante, incluyendo China, Hong Kong, la India y EE. UU. Pero, a través de los Estados rectores de los puertos, los estándares MLC 2006 pueden aplicarse a todos los buques, incluyendo aquellos registrados en países que no lo hayan ratificado.

El Estado del pabellón (país en el que un barco se encuentra registrado) tiene la responsabilidad primordial de implementar y velar por el cumplimiento

del convenio en las embarcaciones. Asimismo, debe asegurarse de que sus estándares nacionales son coherentes con el susodicho convenio. Los Estados del pabellón pueden tener estándares que difieran ligeramente de los requerimientos exactos MLC 2006, siempre y cuando sean sustancialmente equivalente a estos. Además, deberán inspeccionar todos sus buques que estén sujetos al convenio y deberán emitir certificados de trabajo marítimo para los navíos de más de 500 toneladas brutas. Estos certificados sirven para verificar el cumplimiento del convenio por parte de los buques.

Los Estados del pabellón que no hayan ratificado MLC 2006 no tienen obligación de asegurarse de que sus leyes y regulaciones cumplan con dicho convenio. No tienen que inspeccionar los buques para cerciorarse de que cumplan con MLC 2006 y no emiten certificados de trabajo marítimo. Los marineros que se encuentren en barcos registrados en esos países no pueden esperar que el Estado del pabellón del barco haga cumplir MLC 2006.

No obstante, podrán recurrir a los Estados rectores de los puertos para encontrar asistencia. Los países en los que el mencionado

convenio está vigente tienen responsabilidades a este respecto dentro de su territorio, además de en materia de sus propios barcos.

Un mecanismo clave de cumplimiento MLC 2006 es que los países pueden hacer que se cumpla en barcos extranjeros presentes en sus puertos, gracias a los controles por parte de los Estados rectores de cada puerto. Les da la autoridad a estos para inspeccionar cualquier buque extranjero que esté en sus puertos, con el fin de comprobar si cumplen con el convenio. Los Estados rectores de los puertos no podrán privilegiar a embarcaciones procedentes de países que no hayan ratificado el convenio en detrimento de las que vengan de países que sí lo hayan hecho. Dicho de otro modo, los Estados rectores de los puertos tienen autoridad para exigirles a los buques extranjeros registrados en países que no hayan ratificado MLC 2006 que lo cumplan mientras se encuentren en sus puertos.

Cuando un barco esté en un puerto de un país que ha ratificado este convenio, estará sujeto a inspección mediante los controles por parte del Estado rector del puerto en cuestión. Los marineros tienen una capacidad considerable para

asegurarse de que se siguen los estándares del convenio en su barco, al margen de si este se encuentra o no registrado en un país que lo haya ratificado. Todos los marineros en barcos situados en puertos en los que MLC 2006 esté vigente podrán informar de violaciones del mismo a un responsable autorizado (normalmente un responsable del Estado rector del puerto) y esta persona deberá investigar la queja recibida.

Asimismo, cualquier persona interesada en la seguridad de un barco, incluyendo la salud y seguridad de la tripulación (como un capellán de puerto) podrá elevar una queja ante el Estado rector del puerto sobre cualquier condición de vida o trabajo específica que no cumpla con las disposiciones MLC 2006. Tras recibir una queja, un responsable autorizado del Estado rector del puerto deberá proceder a su investigación. Si la queja denuncia un supuesto riesgo claro para la salud o seguridad de los marineros o si las deficiencias de las que se dé parte constituyesen un incumplimiento grave del convenio, incluyendo la violación de los derechos de los marineros, el responsable autorizado del Estado rector del puerto estará obligado a investigarla.

Права моряков защищены и на судах стран не присоединившихся к КТМС 2006Конвенция о труде в морском судоходстве 2006 года (КТМС 2006) является важным международным соглашением, обеспечивающим всесторонние и действенные международные стандарты достойных условий жизни и труда моряков. На сегодняшний день она ратифицирована 64 странами, представляющими 80 % мирового флота.

Большинство моряков мира находятся под защитой КТМС 2006. Что же происходит с моряками, работающими на судах, зарегистрированных в странах не ратифицировавших ее?

КТМС 2006 не является обязательным международным законом в странах не присоединившихся к ней. Впечатляющие 20 % судов мирового морского флота зарегистрировано в странах, для которых соблюдение КТМС 2006 не является обязательным, в том числе в Китае, Гонконге, Индии и США. Тем не менее, посредством органов государственного контроля портов стандарты КТМС 2006 могут быть обеспечены на всех судах − даже на зарегистрированных в странах не ратифицировавших ее.

Государство флага (та страна, где зарегистрировано судно) несет основную ответственность за осуществление и обеспечение соблюдения КТМС 2006 на своих судах. Государство флага обязано позаботиться о соответствии своих национальных стандартов стандартам КТМС 2006. Государствам флага позволяется иметь стандарты, в некоторой степени отличающиеся от требований КТМС 2006, при условии, что они в большей степени эквивалентны им. Кроме того, государства флага должны проводить инспекцию всех судов, подпадающих под действие КТМС 2006, и выдавать свидетельства о соответствии трудовым нормам в морском судоходстве для судов валовой вместимостью 500 тонн и более.

Свидетельство о соответствии трудовым нормам в морском судоходстве подтверждает соответствие судна требованиям Конвенции.

Государства флага, не ратифицировавшие КТМС 2006, не обязаны гарантировать, соответствие своих законов и нормативных актов КТМС 2006. Они не обязаны проверять свои суда на соответствие требованиям КТМС 2006, и они не выдают свидетельства о соответствии трудовым нормам в морском судоходстве. Моряки на судах, зарегистрированных в этих странах, не могут рассчитывать на то, чтобы их государство флага выполняло требования КТМС 2006.

Тем не менее, они могут обратиться за помощью к государству порта. Страны, в которых КТМС 2006 вступила в силу, несут обязательства, действующие не только на ее судах, но и в пределах делах своей территории.

Ключевым механизмом обеспечения соблюдения КТМС 2006 на иностранных судах, находящихся в портах, являются органы государственного контроля портов. КТМС 2006 дает органам государственного контроля портов право проверять все иностранные суда в своих портах на соответствие положениям Конвенции. Государства порта не должны давать преимущество судам стран, не ратифицировавших КТМС 2006, над судами из стран, ратифицировавших ее. Другими словами, государства порта могут требовать от иностранных судов, зарегистрированных в странах, не ратифицировавших КТМС 2006, выполнять ее требования при нахождении в их портах.

Когда судно находится в порту страны, ратифицировавшей КТМС 2006, оно подлежит инспекции государственного портового

контроля. Моряки имеют значительные возможности обеспечения выполнения стандартов КТМС 2006 на своем судне, независимо от того, зарегистрировано оно в стране, ратифицировавшей ее, или нет. Все моряки на судах, находящихся в портах стран, где действует КТМС 2006, могут сообщать о нарушениях Конвенции уполномоченным должностным лицам (как правило, сотруднику органов контроля государства порта), а уполномоченное должностное лицо обязано провести расследование.

Кроме того, любое лицо, заинтересованное в безопасности судна, а также в здоровье и безопасности экипажа, например капеллан порта, может пожаловаться в орган контроля государства порта на определенные условия жизни и работы, не соответствующие КТМС 2006. После получения жалобы служащий органов контроля государства порта может провести расследование. Если затронутые в жалобе вопросы представляют собой явную угрозу для здоровья и безопасности моряков или же заявленные недостатки являются серьезным нарушением Конвенции, включая права моряков, служащий органов контроля государства порта обязан провести расследование.





If you have any questions about your rights as a seafarer, or if you want more information or help, you can contact:

Douglas B Stevenson, Center for Seafarers’ Rights, 118 Export Street, Port Newark, NJ 07114, USA. Tel: +1 973 589 5825 Fax: +1973 817 8656 Email: [email protected] or Canon Ken Peters, The Mission to Seafarers, St Michael Paternoster Royal, College Hill, London EC4R 2RL, UK. Tel: +44 20 7248 5202 Fax: +44 20 7248 4761 Email: [email protected]


FOCUS ON FAITH BY KEN PETERS

Share the message of peace and good will to all

Comparta el mensaje de paz y buena voluntad con todos

EVERY seafarer I know is an optimist, with so much hope for and belief in the future. Hope that the next job will have better living and working conditions than the one you have now; belief that while you are away from home your family remain safe; and hope that one day you will no longer have to go to sea to provide for your loved ones.

Christians share the hope and belief that the world is a good place. Especially now in this season of Christmas, the Christian focus is on celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. It is Jesus who is the one that brings hope to a world that desperately needs to believe that all can be better.

Christmas is traditionally the time for the giving and receiving of presents. This all started when the wise men visited Jesus just after his birth and presented him with gifts. We all have great joy when we receive a gift and hopefully equally feel the pleasure in giving presents to family and friends. It was God’s great joy to give His world the most remarkable gift of His son. The Son of God, in human form, was born into this world to share in our humanity. To live an earthly life, to experience love and happiness, pain and suffering; this precious gift to us all was God’s great blessing for us.

The gift of Jesus, the Christ child, has changed the world forever because having the experience of earthy life means

that God can identify with us in all that we are. Whether we are happy or sad, rich or poor, in good health or in pain and suffering we have Jesus to follow in our lives.

So much of your life is spent away from your family and friends but it need not be away from God. He can be your constant companion. The joy of Christmas can remain with you all year round, sustaining you in your bleaker moments, encouraging you through difficulties, congratulating you on all of your achievements, sharing your laughter and rejoic-ing at your homecoming.

The richness of all of your experiences is something to celebrate. It is this celebration that you are invited by God to share in this Christmas. How can you share in Christmas? Even if you are not a Christian there are some universal truths about Christmas that you can consider. One of them is the call that Christmas shouts out, “Peace on earth and good will to all people”. You are asked to share in this, to speak and act in love and peace, to be seen as someone who seeks only the wellbeing of those around you.

When you see injustice, when people are oppressed and treated with disrespect remember that this is not the way the world should be. Counter such behaviour by being someone of integrity and peace. In so doing you will share the Christ-mas message and the peace of the Christ Child will be yours.

CADA marinero que conozco es una persona optimista, con gran esperanza y fe en el futuro: esperanza de que el próximo trabajo tendrá mejores condiciones laborales y de vida, creencia de que mientras esté lejos de casa su familia permanecerá a salvo y espe-ranza de que un día ya no tendrá que adentrarse en el mar para darle lo necesario a sus seres queridos.

Los cristianos comparten la esperanza y la creencia de que el mundo es un lugar bueno. Especialmente ahora que estamos en Navidad, el enfoque cristiano se centra en la celebración del na-cimiento de Jesucristo. Es Jesús el que trae esperanza a un mundo que necesita desesperadamente creer que todo puede ser mejor.

La Navidad es tradicionalmente el tiempo para dar y recibir regalos. Todo esto comenzó cuando los Reyes Magos visitaron a Jesús al poco de nacer y le realizaron diversos obsequios. Todos sentimos una gran alegría cuando recibimos un regalo y, esper-emos que también, al obsequiar a nuestra familia y amigos con presentes. La gran alegría de Dios fue darle al mundo el regalo inigualable de su Hijo. El Hijo de Dios, bajo forma humana, vino al mundo para compartir con nosotros nuestra humanidad. Vivir una vida terrena, experimentar el amor y la felicidad, el dolor y el sufrimiento: este regalo precioso que Dios nos hizo a todos nosotros fue una gran bendición.

El regalo de Jesús, del Niño Jesús, ha cambiado al mundo para siempre porque tener la experiencia de la vida terrena significa que Dios puede identificarse con nosotros en todo lo

que somos. Felices o tristes, ricos o pobres, sanos o con dolores y sufrimientos, tenemos a Jesús como modelo a seguir en nuestras vidas.

Gran parte de su vida la pasa lejos de su familia y amigos, pero no hay razón para que sea lejos de Dios. Él puede ser su compañero constante. La alegría de la Navidad puede perman-ecer con Ud. todo el año, dándole aliento en los momentos de flaqueza, animándole en medio de las dificultades, felicitándole por todos sus logros, compartiendo su risa y regocijándose en su vuelta a casa.

La riqueza de todas sus experiencias es algo que debe celebrarse. Esta es la celebración a la que Dios le invita en esta Navidad para que la comparta. ¿Cómo puede Ud. compartir en Navidad? Incluso si no es cristiano, hay algunas verdades universales sobre la Navidad que puede considerar. Una de ellas es que la Navidad dice alto y claro el mensaje de «paz en la tierra a los hombres de buena voluntad». Se nos pide compartir esta máxima, hablar y actuar desde el amor y la paz, hacer que los demás nos vean como personas que solo buscan el bienestar de los que nos rodean.

Cuando vemos injusticias, cuando vemos gente oprimida y tratada de manera irrespetuosa, debemos recordar que el mundo no debe ser así. Equilibre la balanza siendo una persona íntegra y de paz. Al hacerlo estará compartiendo el mensaje de la Navidad y la paz del Niño Jesús estará con Ud.

Разделите благую весть мира и доброй воли со всеми КАЖДЫЙ моряк, которого мне довелось знать, - оптимист с огромной верой в будущее и надеждами. Надеждой на то, что на следующей работе условия труда и жизни будут лучше, чем сейчас. Верой в то, что пока он в море, в его семье все хорошо. Надеждой на то, что наступит день, и ему не надо будет выходить в море, чтобы обеспечить своих близких и любимых всем необходимым.

Христиане разделяют надежду и веру в то, что мир прекрасен. Особенно сейчас, в преддверии Рождества, главным для христиан является празднование рождения Иисуса Христа. Именно Иисус приносит надежду в мир, который отчаянно нуждается в том, чтобы поверить в лучшее.

Рождество − это традиционно время дарения и получения подарков. Все началось с того момента, когда волхвы пришли к Иисусу сразу после его рождения и принесли ему дары. Мы все радуемся, получая подарки, и, я надеюсь, испытываем не меньшую радость, вручая подарки родным и друзьям. Для Бога было великой радостью подарить созданному Им миру самый замечательный подарок − Его сына. Сын Бога в образе человека был рожден в этот мир для того, чтобы разделить с нами нашу человечность. Для того, чтобы прожить земную жизнь, испытать любовь и счастье, боль и страдания. Этот бесценный дар для всех нас был Божьим благословлением нам.

Дар Иисуса, младенца Христа, навсегда изменил мир, потому что полученный им опыт земной жизни означает то, что

Бог может отождествить себя с каждым из нас во всех наших проявлениях. Грустны мы или веселы, богаты или бедны, в хорошем здравии или в болезни и страдании, у нас есть Христос, которому мы можем следовать во всем.

Вы так много времени проводите вдали от семьи и друзей, но вы не должны проводить его вдали от Бога. Он может быть вашим постоянным спутником. Радость Рождества может оставаться с Вами весь год, поддерживая вас в минуты слабости, помогая преодолеть трудности, поздравляя со всеми достижениями, разделяя вашу радость возвращения домой.

Богатство вашего опыта следует праздновать. Это то празднество, которое Бог призывает вас разделить в эти Рождественские дни. Как мы можем делиться с другими в Рождество? Даже если вы не христианин, Рождество несет в себе такие вселенские ценности, на которые стоит обратить внимание. Одной из них является рождественский призыв, который трудно не услышать: «Мир на Земле и добрая воля для всех живущих». Я призываю вас разделить этот призыв, говорить и действовать в любви и мире, чтобы вас воспринимали как человека, заботящегося только о благе тех, кто окружает вас.

Если вы видите несправедливость, притеснения и неуважение к людям, помните, что этот мир не должен быть таким. Противопоставляйте себя такому поведению, как человек, несущий в себе достоинство и мир. Поступая так, вы разделите рождественскую весть, и мир младенца Христа будет с вами.






France told to compensate pirates THE European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered the French Government to pay nine Somali pirates thou-sands of euros because they were not immedi-ately brought before a French judge after being captured and taken to France. One is to get E9,000 (£7,000) and the others sums of up to E7,000 for ‘moral damages’ as well as legal costs.

Six of the pirates had held French citizens hostage after seizing the France-flagged cruise yacht Le Ponant and the others had hijacked the French yacht Carré d’As in two separate inci-dents in 2008.

The Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP) has reacted angrily to the ruling. Its pro-gramme director, Roy Paul, said: “This decision would be unbelievable if it wasn’t made by the European Court of Hu-man Rights. The claim that this constituted a ‘violation of their rights to freedom and secu-rity’, is an insult to the seafarers and yachtsmen they attacked as surely this is the true violation of the seafarers’ rights to freedom and security. These pirates, in my opinion, gave up any of their rights when they set sail to attack innocent seafarers who were simply doing their essential work.”

NON-payment of crew wages accounted for almost 40 per cent of Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006)-related ship detentions in the first year of enforcement within the area covered by the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control.

Commenting on the figures, Thomas Brown, managing director of marine insurance intermediary Seacurus, said: “There are signs that the legislation is being applied in a robust manner, but there does not appear to be the feeding frenzy of enforcement regime which would bring trade to its knees.”

In addition to non-payment of wages, the Paris MoU figures also show that detainable MLC 2006-related deficiencies were most frequently recorded in the areas of “manning levels for the ship” (28.6 per cent) and “accident prevention” (43.1 per cent).

Abandonment still a problem

THE world’s largest containership, and the first of a series of five 19,100 teu container-ships ordered by China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) in 2013, was named at Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in Ulsan, South Korea in November.

The CSCL Globe is being deployed on the Asia-Europe trade loop.

PLANS to scale back operations to rescue refugees from sinking boats in the Mediterranean have prompted

a strong reaction from shipping industry organisations.

The shipowners’ body, the International Chamber of Shipping, (ICS) says the rescue of all persons in distress at sea – including illegal migrants – is an obligation under international maritime law, as well as being a long established humanitarian duty. It says merchant ships are currently involved on a daily basis in the rescue of refugees at sea in the Mediterranean.

The ICS stresses that “whatever may be decided by policy-makers in EU Member States, the legal and humanitarian obligation of merchant ships to provide assistance to anyone in distress at sea will remain unchanged”.

Responding to reports that some European Union ministers have expressed concerns that search and rescue operations have acted as a ‘pull factor’ for illegal migration, encouraging people to make dangerous crossings in the expectation of rescue, the ICS notes that merchant ships

are legally required to rescue persons in distress at sea by the UN International Maritime Organization’s Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS). Almost every maritime nation has signed up to SOLAS.

The ICS points out that, under SOLAS, and the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, the obligation of the ship’s master to render assistance is complemented by a corresponding obligation on the part of IMO Member States to co-operate in rescue situations. This obligation should relieve the master of the responsibility to care for survivors, and allow individuals who are rescued at sea in such circumstances to be delivered promptly to a place of safety.

The ICS cautions: “The shipping industry is therefore very concerned by reports that the new EU Frontex operation, Triton, will have a third of the budget of the current Italian Mare Nostrum operation which it replaces, that its primary focus will be border control, and that search and rescue operations may be reduced in international waters.

“It will clearly be much more difficult for merchant ships to save lives at sea without the adequate provision of search and rescue services by EU Member States.”

The ICS warns that “moreover, whenever a ship performs its legal and humanitarian obligations, it will continue to be incumbent on EU Member States to ensure that those who are rescued can be readily disembarked at the next port of call, even when they may lack documentation.”

The Mission’s director of Justice and Public Affairs, Ken Peters, represented global Anglicanism at the UNHCR High Commissioner’s Dialogue on ‘Protection at Sea’. Within the debate he was able to remind the session that the security of seafarers is a major concern for both safety and health issues.

He commented: “It is important that the debate is informed about the immense pressure on seafarers in carrying out their humanitarian rescue of those in peril at sea. Under extremely difficult circumstances they act professionally and are proud of their record in coming to the assistance of those in danger.”

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World’s largest boxship named

A biannual safety campaign has been launched by major Japanese shipping group Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) to increase awareness of the dangers of onboard fires.

The campaign uses a case study of an incident that occurred on an MOL-operated vessel and then encourages

discussions focusing on safe behaviour and everyday actions that help reduce the risk of fires.

The campaign, which targets all MOL-operated vessels, also introduces the ‘Behaviour Based Safety’ method, which establishes safety by cultivating subconscious factors in human

behaviour to increase ‘safe behaviour’ and reduce ‘unsafe behaviour’. The campaign is aimed at instilling a strong consciousness of safety among all MOL Group employees at sea and on land, promoting teamwork, and fostering a group-wide appreciation of safe operation as the top priority.

MOL campaign targets onboard fires

Mediterranean refugee rescue ‘cuts’ cause concern Reduced government search and rescue efforts could leave merchant ships with the sole responsibility to rescue illegal immigrants

Shipping emissions down 20% TOTAL Green House Gas emissions from glob-al maritime transport are estimated to have been over 20 per cent lower in 2012 than in 2007, according to new International Maritime Organization figures.

The global shipping industry is thought to have produced only about 2.2 per cent of the world’s total Green House Gas emissions during 2012 compared with 2.8 per cent in 2007.

Guilty of sleeping on watch THE master of a Hawai-ian fishing vessel who was asleep with no other person on watch, pleaded guilty in a US court to operating a commercial vessel in a grossly negligent man-ner. He was sentenced to one year’s probation and 60 hours of com-munity service, as well as being required to attend Coast Guard-ap-proved safety training.

During the proba-tionary period, he may not serve as master or person in charge of any commercial vessel.

Ships are legally obliged to rescue all persons in distress at sea (Photo: US Navy)

THE Mission to Seafar-ers in Dubai recently had a call for help from the seven crew members of a small vessel who had not been paid their salary for four months and had had their pass-ports taken by the ship’s agent.

With assistance from the port op-erator, the Mission discussed the situation with the agent. A few days later the crew received their money and their passports.

Mission aids crew in Dubai

THE Mission to Seafarers’ seafarers’ centre in Fremantle, Western Australia, fed and housed the Indian and Filipino crew of the world’s largest livestock carrier, following a fire while she was in Fremantle in October.

More than half of the 70-strong crew of the Australian Drover were affected by smoke inhalation and two were taken to hospital. A 40-year-old crew member was initially in a critical condition, but later

improved, while the second was released the following day.

The Mission’s chaplain in Fremantle, the Revd Dennis Claughton, visited the seafarers in hospital. Col Brown from the seafarers’ centre said the crisis stretched them to the limit but they had been able to cope.

The 29,770 gt Singapore-flagged ship’s owner, the Australian farming conglomerate, the Wellard Group, also

operates two other livestock carriers, the Ocean Swagman and the Ocean Outback. The Australian Drover had been due to load 10,000 head of cattle but none were on board when the fire occurred. The Australian Transport Safety Board is investigating the cause of the fire, which is believed to have started in the accommodation area.

The vessel left Fremantle under tow for Singapore on 10 November.

Mission helps livestock carrier crew

The Sea: Jan–Feb 2015

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