Adding its voice to the chorus of calls for action to
address the challenges of crew change on this World Maritime Day, a federation
of maritime unions called on the world’s port states to take a more active role
in support of seafarers.
The Nautilus Federation of 22 maritime unions issued a
statement highlighting the key issues that the maritime world has been talking
about, saying that seafarers are being denied their human rights during the
pandemic with as many as 300,000 stuck at sea beyond the agreed 11-month
maximum service.
Citing the failure of governments, industry, and flag states
to name seafarers as keyworkers and get them off ships and home to loved ones,
the federation echoed the sentiment of many in the maritime industry saying
that these failures have led to a humanitarian crisis that can no longer be
tolerated.
“This is a wholly predicted – yet avoidable – humanitarian
crisis, and we call for action against governments who deny seafarers their
fundamental rights,” said Nautilus Federation director Mark Dickinson.
The group called for an international solution to the
address the challenges of getting seafarers on and off both the world’s seas
and rivers without delay. “Should that international solution cause port states
to detain growing numbers of vessels until seafarers are repatriated, the
industry and governments will need to prepare for the disruption this would
cause to global supply chains," the group added.
The unions highlighted what they said is the inability for
some of the world's largest flags to enforce the fundamental rights of
seafarers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The federation said that while many
Flags of Convenience (FOCs) quickly ratified the Maritime Labour Convention
2006, it said the ease and speed by which many flag states subsequently ignored
the rights of seafarers is a stain on the entire maritime industry.
“We call on all port states to assist the flag states by
enforcing the provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention and detain ships
that do not comply,” said the federation in its statement. “Similar actions
must also be taken for those people working on board vessels sailing on inland
waterways, many of whom are facing the same denial of human rights.”
A number of flag states have stepped up to meet the
challenge. For example, Panama, the world's largest flag state after coming in
for criticism has taken steps to protect seafarers working aboard ships flying
the Panama flag. Singapore today announced steps related to seafarer's
contracts and Australia in its role as a flag state said it will not accept
extensions of service without beyond 14 months without leave.
Port states have also already shown their strong support of
seafarers. For example, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has
been aggressive in its inspection and support of seafarers ensuring that they
are being treated fairly by the shipowners. Earlier this month, AMSA reported
that it had detained and then banned a bulk carrier for underpaying its crew.
It was the fourth such instance in recent months where AMSA detained and then
banned ships arriving in Australia's waters for either not properly paying
their crew or having other welfare violations including overextending labor
contracts.
Saying that the major flag states have the ability to
resolve the crew change crisis by refusing to allow seafarers on their ships to
be denied their fundamental human rights, the unions hoped that port states
will join the initiatives to ensure quick action to address the problems of
completing crew changes.