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Last year, union ship inspectors recovered more than USD $37 million in unpaid wages owed to seafarers, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has revealed in figures published today.

The ITF’s 125 inspectors and coordinators completed 7,265 inspections in 2021 to support thousands of seafarers with wage claims and repatriation cases, despite Covid-19 restrictions preventing inspectors’ ability to board ships for much of the year.

ITF Inspectors get their name because they board and ‘inspect’ ships. They educate seafarers about their rights and support crew to enforce these rights. The officials cover more than 100 ports across 50 countries.

*Los Angeles-based ITF Inspector Stefan Mueller-Dombois boards a vessel and speaks with crew. On this visit, Stefan is joined by new recruit Ryan* *Brazeau. Covid restrictions in ports and harbours made it impossible for many inspectors to board ships for much of last year.* | (Credit: Ryan Brazeau)

Inspectors are trained to look for exploitation, overwork – even for signs of forced labour and modern slavery. On many vessels, Inspectors have the right to examine wage accounts, employment contracts, and to review recorded hours of work and rest.

“It’s not uncommon for crew to be paid the at the wrong rate by a shipowner, or less than the rate set out in the employment agreement covering the ship,” said Steve Trowsdale, the ITF’s Inspectorate Coordinator.

“Crew can generally work out when they’re being underpaid. And that’s when they contact us. ITF inspectors help seafarers recover what’s owed to them.”

Altogether, the ITF clawed back USD $37,591,331 in unpaid wages and entitlements from shipowners in 2021.

Trowsdale said the makeup of seafarers’ wage claims was changing: “Concerningly, we’re seeing a rise in the number of seafarers reporting non-payment of wages for periods of two months or longer, which actually meets the ILO’s definition of abandonment.”

“Seafarers might think it’s normal to go unpaid for a couple of months, waiting for a shipowner to sort out financing, but they need to be aware that non-payment can also be a sign that a shipowner is about to cut them loose and leave them abandoned.”

*An ITF inspector watches carefully as a ship’s master counts out wages owed but yet unpaid to crew. Most seafarers working internationally are paid in US dollars.* | (Credit: ITF)

The ITF reported 85 cases of abandonment to the International Labour Organization (ILO) last year, an historic high. In many of those cases, abandoned crew had already been waiting on several weeks’ or months’ of unpaid wages – including those aboard the storm-hit MV Lidia.

ITF inspector based in Hong Kong, Jason Lam, helped eight Burmese seafarers who were crewing the MV Lidia recover almost USD $30,000 in unpaid wages after they ran aground in October 2021, thanks to a typhoon that left them close to shipwrecked. The shipowner refused to pay the two months’ wages he owed them, abandoning them and ruling out any assistance to get them home.

Weeks of campaigning by Lam on behalf of the seafarers had an impact, and on 2 November 2021, the crew flew home – full wages in hand.

*Burmese seafarers who were left near shipwrecked after a typhoon are pictured on their way home from Hong Kong, after ITF Inspector **Jason Lam** helped them recover almost $300 in unpaid wages*. | (Credit: ITF)

Amidst crew change crisis, ITF inspectors got thousands of seafarers home

Trowsdale said Inspectors did not let Covid-19 barriers stop them from supporting seafarers in need, instead adapting and finding new ways of working.

“I’m extremely proud of the work of our inspectors have done to support seafarers in the last year, often working in the face of incredibly difficult circumstances,” he said. “It’s always been incredibly important for our team to be able to physically get to seafarers – to board ships and educate crew on their rights. So, when Covid-19 restrictions presented a challenge to inspectors to board vessels, there was a real question: ‘What will happen to the seafarers who need us?’”

As the crew change crisis worsened in early 2021, a flood of requests filled the ITF’s inboxes from crew desperate to sign off and get home. Covid-related border restrictions were the underlying reason for the crew change crisis, which impacted an estimated 400,000 seafarers at the worst point of the crisis. But on some ships, other more sinister factors were at play in keeping crew from their families.

“There is evidence that some shipowners were using Covid-19 as an excuse to keep seafarers working beyond their initial contracts and in complete violation of those seafarers’ human and labour rights,” said Trowsdale. “Thankfully, our team was wise to what was going on and despite everything we got thousands of seafarers home.”

“Keeping crew onboard while pretending their hands were tied may have saved those employers a few dollars in flight fares, but in today’s society that kind of conduct gets noticed. There are no shadows to hide in anymore when it comes to global supply chain accountability,” he said.

Source: https://www.itfseafarers.org/en/news/itf-inspectors-recover-usd376m-unpaid-wages-seafarers-despite-covid-restrictions

The Misdemeanors and Violations Court in Dubai reportedly imprisoned an Asian ship captain and four other individuals who owned a vessel and shipping firms. This was due to them mistakenly contributing to the burning of properties of others and incurring a massive loss of about Dhs24 million, as containers with several materials were burnt and part of Jebel Ali Port was impaired, besides the damage of unloading and loading machines at the port.

The court sentenced them to jail for one month with a three-year suspension.

During the same session, the court further convicted four shipping firms, one of whom owned the vessel, fined Dhs100, 000 to each firm, and referred the case to a more competent civil court.

The details of the incident date back to 2021 (July), when a massive fire broke out in one of the ships in Jebel Ali based in Dubai.

The civil defence teams immediately rushed to the scene and were able to put out the fire in approximately 40 minutes without death but with minor injuries to the Asian sailors.

The Dubai Government Media Office had declared at that time that the fire caused the burning of a part of the vessel besides causing extensive material damage to the port’s berth. The site of the accident was referred to competent authorities for conducting inspections.

Per the case file and the forensic lab report at Dubai Police, the fire resulted from sheer negligence and incompetence in adhering to the safety protocols, as the cargo shipper did not check the validity and quality of used containers and the validity of transporting dangerous material. They also kept the containers of dangerous materials under the sun for 21 days in Jebel Ali Port at a temperature of about 44°C.

The report suggested that containers were loaded with about 640 barrels of harmful materials, and the vessel owners and cargo shippers failed to coordinate with one another regarding the appropriate time for the container delivery.

Per the report, the ship’s captain, operators, and owners did not register the dangerous materials or separate the containers. They also kept them adjacent to each other; this resulted in the first container exploding.

References: Gulf Today, Khaleej Times

LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) – More than 1,900 workers at Britain’s biggest container port are due on Sunday to start eight days of strike action which their union and shipping companies warn could seriously affect trade and supply chains.

The staff at Felixstowe, on the east coast of England, are taking industrial action in a dispute over pay, becoming the latest workers to strike in Britain as unions demand higher wages for members facing a cost-of-living crisis.

“Strike action will cause huge disruption and will generate massive shockwaves throughout the UK’s supply chain, but this dispute is entirely of the company’s own making,” said Bobby Morton, the Unite union’s national officer for docks.

“It [the company] has had every opportunity make our members a fair offer but has chosen not to do so.”

On Friday, Felixstowe’s operator Hutchison Ports said it believed its offer of a 7% pay rise and a lump sum of 500 pounds ($604) was fair. It said the port’s workers union, which represents about 500 staff in supervisory, engineering and clerical roles, had accepted the deal.

Unite, which represents mainly dock workers, says the proposal is significantly below the current inflation rate, and followed a below inflation increase last year.

“The port regrets the impact this action will have on UK supply chains,” a Hutchison Ports spokesperson said.

The port said it would have a contingency plan in place, and was working to minimise disruption during the walkouts which will last until Aug. 29.

Shipping group Maersk MAERSKb.CO, one of the world’s biggest container shippers, has warned the action would have a significant impact, causing operational delays and forcing it to make changes to its vessel line-up.

Figures released on Aug. 17 showed Britain’s consumer price inflation hit 10.1% in July, the highest since February 1982, and some economists forecast it will hit 15% in the first three months of next year amid surging energy and food costs.

The squeeze on household incomes has already led to strikes by the likes of rail and bus workers demanding higher pay rises.

Source: https://gcaptain.com/workers-at-uks-biggest-container-port-felixstowe-due-to-begin-8-day-strike/

Russian tanker PRIMORYE was arrested by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Aug 21 24nm off the coast of Tanjung Sedili, Kota Tinggi District, Johor, Malaysia, Singapore and Singapore Strait outer Anchorage, South China sea. It’s so to say, routine arrest and routine accusation – the ship anchored without obtaining official permission, though nobody so far, explained the necessity of coastal State permission to anchor outside its’ territorial waters. Tanker will be released, judging from countless other arrests of this type, after paying a “fine”. Tanker anchored off Singapore on Aug 19, having a status of “Waiting for Orders”.

New FleetMon Vessel Safety Risk Reports Available: https://www.fleetmon.com/services/vessel-risk-rating/

Member Authorities of the Tokyo and the Paris Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control will launch a joint Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on STCW.

This campaign will be held for three months, commencing from 1 September 2022 and ending 30 November 2022. The CIC inspections will be applicable for all ships and conducted in conjunction with the regular Port State Control inspection.

The campaign on STCW aims to confirm that:

the number of seafarers serving on board and their certificates are in conformity with the relevant provisions of STCW Convention and Code and the applicable safe manning requirements as determined by the Flag State Administration;
all seafarers serving on board, who are required to be certificated in accordance with STCW Convention, hold an appropriate certificate or a valid dispensation, or provide documentary proof that an application for an endorsement has been submitted to the Flag State Administration;
the seafarers on board hold a valid medical certificate as required by STCW Convention;
the watch-keeping schedules and hours of rest indicate compliance with the requirements of STCW Convention and Code;
The CIC will assist in raising the awareness of shipowners, operators and crew on the specific requirements in the STCW Convention and Code.

The questionnaire is annexed to the Press Release.

Source : https://www.parismou.org/sites/default/files/Press%20release%20-%20Paris%20MoU%20-%20Concentrated%20Inspection%20Campaign%20on%20STCW.pdf

In case large amounts of water should penetrate the ship’s hatch covers, both ship and crew could be in danger but limited water ingress would normally not cause a safety problem for the ship.

However, from a cargo quality point of view, even small amounts of water can ruin a cargo
and cause commercial havoc. In general, one can say that the Class and statutory rules and associated inspections will mainly look to the safety of the vessel and crew. The industry (charterers, shippers, receivers, underwriters,…) will take statutory and class compliance for granted and will focus more on the commercial aspects of carrying goods by sea.

Whilst decades ago, only a few types of hatch covers were made, a wide variety of hatch covers were being developed to accommodate the requirements of specific ships, trades and cargoes. Nowadays, the most commonly seen types of hatch covers for general cargo ships, handysize, panamax and capesize bulk carriers consist of folding hatch covers (general cargo & handysize) and side rolling hatch covers (panamax & capesize). For container vessels we generally see that lift-away type pontoons are installed.

Ultimately it will be the shipowner who will decide, in concertation and dialogue with the shipyard, classification society, fl ag administration, customers,… which hatch cover type will suit the client’s business model best and eventually hatch covers that are right for the ship, trade and cargo will be developed around a number of key parameters. Items that may influence the design are amongst others size of hatches, carriage of deck cargoes, strength requirements, available crew for preparing hatches to go to sea, opening/closing methods.

Hatch cover designs have evolved from very basic and relatively lightweight designs to huge, heavy and moving pieces of equipment. Hatch covers are generally referred to as heavy-duty shipboard equipment and this is generally associated with material that can withstand rough handling and does not need constant care and maintenance. However, this is not true as modern hatch covers are high-tech equipment for which very small tolerances should be observed. Their maintenance is type-specific and their operation should be considered a risk. Therefore, having a good understanding of how hatch covers work, and how to maintain and operate them is very important.

Cargo should not only be carried and delivered in time and in good condition but should also be transported in an environmentally friendly manner. In view of the size and weight of
hatch covers, many types are still operated by hydraulic systems which, in case of failure
and associated spillage, have a pollution potential.

Only the combination of proper inspection, correct operation and regular maintenance of hatch covers will ensure that the goods loaded onboard ships can be transported in line with good industry standards.

Below you can download a Guide paper from the Japan P&I club, providing very useful information for Owners, Managers and Crew onboard Bulker vessels, discussing important aspects of Bulk Carrier Hatch Covers maintenance and claims:

Source: Japan P&I club

The Port of Long Beach reported July throughput numbers on Tuesday, showing its most active July on record despite a “cooldown” in consumer spending.

Dockworkers and terminal operators at the port moved 785,843 TEU in July, a slim 0.13% increase from the previous record set in July 2021.

Total throughput was boosted by rising empty export containers, offsetting a year-over-year imports decline. Imports fell 1.8% to 376,175 TEUs, while empty containers moved through the port rose 2.8% to 300,257 TEUs. Exports were down 0.5% to 109,411 TEUs.

Looking by month, July’s numbers came in about 6% below June, which capped the port’s strongest quarter on record in Q2 2022, marking two consecutive quarters of record setting cargo volumes despite headwinds from inflation and fears of a looming recession.

“We are continuing to seek solutions to improve efficiency as a record-breaking number of containers move through the Port,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “We hope to relieve some of the stress points by continuing to support a transition of the entire supply chain to 24/7 operations and ensuring our industry partners can track containers with our new Supply Chain Information Highway data solution.”

With July’s final numbers in, the Port of Long Beach has now broken monthly records in six out of the last seven months. Year-to-date, cargo volumes are up 4.6% compared to the same period in 2021, when the Port of Long Beach handled record cargo volumes of more than 9.3 million TEU.

“Our waterfront workforce continues to ensure trade moves through the Port at a record-setting pace,” said Long Beach Harbor Commission President Sharon L. Weissman. “We continue to strengthen our partnerships with labor and industry to ensure our spot as a leader in trans-Pacific trade.”

The National Retail Federation said Monday it expects 2022 container imports into United States to surpass 2021 despite a “significant” slowdown over the remainder of the year.

Many retailers this year have brought in cargo early and shifted to East and Gulf Coast ports to avoid any potential disruptions related to ongoing contract negotiations between dockworkers and employers at West Coast ports. The NRF is predicting the slowdown to start in August and continue through the remainder of the year before deepening in 2023.

This West to East cargo shift has knocked the Port of Long Beach out of second place in the rankings of top U.S. container ports as Long Beach’s volumes now trail behind the Port of New York and New Jersey, which has not yet reported July numbers. The Port of Savannah has also been a benificiary of this shift, with the port reporting an 18% surge in cargo volumes in July compared to 2021.

Unfortunately, the shift has also contributed to growing backups on the East Coast, with most ships now arriving late. On the other hand, Port of Long Beach and Los Angeles backups have eased considerably from January’s peak, but with 25 ships still waiting in the queue as of Monday, they aren’t out of the woods yet.

Source: https://gcaptain.com/empties-lift-port-of-long-beach-to-new-july-record-as-imports-fall/

Bourbon Marine Services Greenmar, the manning affiliate of the Bourbon Group, has agreed a deal to implement MarTrust’s E-Wallet system to digitally manage its crew payments.

Bourbon Marine Services Greenmar is responsible for managing over 1,000 seafarers on more than 100 vessels. The E-Wallet and pre-paid cards provided by Marcura subsidiary MarTrust will be used to optimise payment processes, enabling crews to receive and manage their funds using a mobile app or any web browser.

Cash can be accessed at any Mastercard-supported ATM around the world, and the card can be topped up in different currencies. Users also have the ability to transfer money to family and friends as they wish using the system.

“Our key goal is to attract and retain the very best seafarers and to actively contribute to their personal growth within our organisation. This means ensuring that all areas that impact their lives while at sea are at the highest level, from communication and sourcing of stores, health and safety, as well as how they are remunerated and receive their hard-earned salaries,” said Suraj Maharaj, Managing Director, Bourbon Marine Services Greenmar.

“We recently introduced an attractive pension scheme for our seafarers, as well as a digital signature platform for employment agreements, and now the E-Wallet is the latest digital development to ensure that they receive their wages safely and securely, and with the freedom and ability to do with it what they choose.”

Source: https://smartmaritimenetwork.com/2022/08/10/bourbon-implements-digital-crew-payments-system/

Lloyd’s underwriting syndicate has signed an agreement to gain access to the Risk Intelligence System, backed by operational intelligence support services, for use in managing risk in its insurance portfolio.

The Risk Intelligence System offers an overview of immediate, short-, and medium-term security risks for coastal areas, ocean, port, and landside threats. The analysis is focused on insurgency, piracy, organised crime, activism, terrorism, military conflicts, and any interplay between these parameters.

The deal includes Risk Intelligence’s MaRisk and PortRisk systems, which will assist in writing cover for war risks and other challenging areas. Risk Intelligence will also provide bespoke reports and monthly security risk briefs to the underwriting team.

“This is a great addition to our strong book of insurance clients,” said Jim Pascoe, CCO of Risk Intelligence.

“In welcoming our new client on board, we will be providing our maritime intelligence right into the heart of marine underwriting. It’s particularly pleasing as this was a very competitive process, and our previous delivery to this client secured Risk Intelligence the ongoing contract – once again proving the quality of our analysts and advisory teams.”

“I am very much looking forward to working with our new client, assisting them as they challenge the traditional ways of dealing with war risk cover and books of business.”

Source: https://smartmaritimenetwork.com/2022/08/09/lloyds-adopts-risk-intelligence-system/

The world’s largest international maritime exercise concluded Aug. 4 following more than a month of realistic, relevant combined operations training conducted in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California.

Twenty-six nations, 38 surface ships, three submarines, nine national land forces, more than 30 unmanned systems, approximately 170 aircraft and over 25,000 personnel participated in the 28th edition of the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC).

RIMPAC 2022 Combined Task Force Commander, U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Michael Boyle expressed that returning to a full-scale exercise, with multiple exercise firsts, has been a success across all domains.

“By coming together as Capable, Adaptive Partners, and in the scale that we are, we are making a statement about our commitment to work together, to foster and sustain those relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of the sea lanes and the security of the world’s interconnected oceans,” Vice Adm. Boyle said.

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Rear Admiral Toshiyuki Hirata filled the role of Vice Commander, and commanded the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) portion of the exercise that operated with local hospital personnel. This year’s RIMPAC included two Maritime Self-Defense Force escort ships and the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Western Army.

Rear Adm. Hirata said that in the current security environment, it is important for the international community to work together. “It is of great significance to deepen and strengthen the relationship of trust.”

For the first time, Republic of Korea Rear Adm. Sangmin An served as the Commander of the exercise’s combined amphibious task force, with the Republic of Singapore Navy Col. Kwan Hon Chuong serving as the amphibious force’s Sea Combat Commander, and Royal Australian Navy Capt. Michael Osborn serving as the Sea Logistics Commander.

RIMPAC’s Deputy Commander, Royal Canadian Navy Rear Adm. Christopher Robinson, said the collaboration and cohesiveness between partner nations enhanced their operations.

“This exercise provides tremendous training value, enabling partners to build skills and refine procedures through working together. Part of this comes from seeing how other partners approach similar scenarios, offering new perspectives”, Robinson said.

“The value of this collaboration goes further, in that it also enables us to build and foster those relationships and networks that are so incredibly valuable as we operate together in future operations throughout the region.”

A few of the first-time achievements included:

Two U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey aircraft embarked in Australian amphibious ship HMAS Canberra for the whole duration of the exercise.
While participating in RIMPAC for the first time, HMNZS Aotearoa conducted numerous Replenishment at Sea operations with partner nations including France, Australia, Canada, Malaysia and the U.S.
Royal Malaysian Ship KD Leskir (F26) conducted their first live missile firing outside Malaysian waters.
First embedded use of the MQ-9A and MQ-9B unmanned aerial vehicles, and the unmanned surface vessels Nomad, Ranger, Sea Hawk and Sea Hunter; with data and knowledge sharing amongst 13 countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Peru, India, France, Chile, Mexico, Singapore and Indonesia.
Nine nations participated in the RIMPAC Amphibious Assault (Australia, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Tonga and U.S.).

This year’s exercise included units and personnel from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Source: https://maritimefairtrade.org/rimpac-2022-worlds-largest-maritime-exercise-concludes/

Newer Posts

Older Posts

ITF inspectors recover USD$37.6m in unpaid wages for seafarers, despite Covid restrictions

Amidst crew change crisis, ITF inspectors got thousands of seafarers home

Captain And Four Others Jailed For Causing Massive Ship Fire At Jebel Ali Port

Workers At UK’s Biggest Container Port Felixstowe Due To Begin 8-Day Strike

Russian tanker arrested, Singapore outer anchorage

Joint concentrated inspection campaign on STCW

Maritime Loss Prevention: Hatch Covers Claims Vs Maintenance

Below you can download a Guide paper from the Japan P&I club, providing very useful information for Owners, Managers and Crew onboard Bulker vessels, discussing important aspects of Bulk Carrier Hatch Covers maintenance and claims:

Empties Lift Port of Long Beach to New July Record as Imports Fall

Bourbon implements digital crew payments system

Lloyd’s adopts Risk Intelligence system

RIMPAC 2022: World’s Largest Maritime Exercise Concludes

Ballast water record-keeping and reporting requirements - Upcoming changes

Mandatory STCW 2026 Harassment & Bullying Prevention Policy

Maritime Electronic Record Books: The Future of Compliance and Efficiency at Sea

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