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Criminalization can happen to anyone. Before it was always about the ship master but nowadays any seafarer can become criminalized. The damage and destruction affects not just the seafarers but also the family. I am not saying that every seafarer is innocent but I do believe that everybody is entitled to the rule of law and presumed innocent until proven guilty. At the moment, I am involved in building a database which goes back to the beginning of 2009, where there have been a number of major cases of criminalization. Whenever you have a master found guilty and fined by Port State Control that does not mean he is a criminal. In some of the cases that I deal with, I see that people cannot afford the cost of having lawyers represent them. So, there is a perception by seafarers who believe that the P&I Club will protect them. P&I Clubs are there for the shipowner and do help seafarers however there are limits to what they can do when it is contrary to the best interest of the shipowner. The basic cost is that they are put in prison as suspects of being involved in illegal activities such as drug trafficking. I have been dealing with cases that had masters in prison and although families, friends, communities had raised money to support then it was not enough and in the end they run out of money. So the person had to plead guilty and take the sentence. In one case, the sentence was for 10 years because drugs were found onboard. The master has already served three years in prison and has three to do as 3 years were commuted for good behavior. At the moment his own country is trying to negotiate a deal to have him return home to spend the balance of his conviction in a national prison. The trouble is that he wants to go back to sea; he wants to revalidate his ticket when he is released. But how you will employ somebody as master who has against them a conviction for drug smuggling and will the insurance cover him to go back to sea?
Criminalization of seafarers doing their job is increasing. It is a small percentage but it is growing, actually it is accelerating and where before it was usually the Shipmaster, it is spreading to all ranks. The big cases make the headlines but so many more are taking place and the effects on the lives of the seafarer and their family is devastating. There are overlaps of criminalization being linked to piracy. The complications and variations of these cases are incredible and there are so many cases that are not recorded.
In Costa Concordia, Captain Schettino was fully blamed for the accident. However, if you go through all the video recordings you see that after he abandoned the ship and people had gathered to disembark to get off the ship, the cruise director took it upon herself to tell people to return to their cabins. The people who followed her advice are reported to be the people who died. The Costa Concordia is a warning and as I usually say; it is not ”if” but it is ”when” the major maritime disaster happens to cruise liner is coming. Regarding the Sewol tragedy; one of the things you will discover if you go through all the paperwork – believe it or not – is that the master is facing the death sentence. Hopefully, the Korean Government will take pity on a 69 year-old man to be executed for what went wrong in his ship. The problem we have with the Sewol is that it was a domestic ship. After the accident, the IMO Sec-Gen took a brave step when he asked safety regulations to be applied to domestic passenger ships. Another thing about the Sewol is that it is a Ro-Ro. We have been told that RoRo ships are failing all the time due to human errors. So, why we haven’t trained officers and crew for operating RoRo to the same standard as we have done with the tanker industry? The accident of Ocean Centurion is where piracy and criminalization overlaps. Ocean Centurion while was travelling in the Gulf of Guinea off Togo , she was boarded by pirates. Pirates ransacked the ship and departed. The local Coast Guard then arrested some of the pirates and because two of them were of Indian extraction nationality, they accused captain of working in collusion with the pirates to have the ship robbed. The Captain released last year after being held in prison. The only reason he was released was to go home was because his eleven month old child had died. So, he wasn’t released until after his child died although this had been requested.
In many cases the case is not really reported unless you can have access to the media. The P&I Club help and do so to a certain extent but they are there for the shipowner not you. Criminalization cases cost a lot of money to fight. It can be well over US$250,000 in legal fees. Do you have the money to pay for this? In many cases the person involved and their family has lost everything. So perhaps it is time to look to professional indemnity insurance like doctors, lawyers and the like. Or be a member of an association or union that offers such cover. So, if you can afford it maybe it is time to join a union or an association able to give you some protection. As cases increase, the seafarer will become more and more aware of their exposure. Knowing your rights is very important but being able to contact the right people for assistance is even more important. Being able to contact someone who can pass your information to others is essential. There are organizations and charities that can help. An example is the International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) has a telephone helpline which manned 24/7/365 and has interpreters so it can assist non English speakers.
Criminalization is affecting not only the master but other ranks too, so be prepared as in some cases the whole of the ship’s crew have been imprisoned. I am not here to promote any one product but to raise awareness of the problem and consequences. In many cases crew members, while innocent, plead out a guilty verdict to receive reduced sentences because they cannot afford the legal costs to fight the case. Think about pleading guilty and facing 10 years in imprisonment and on top of that your family and friends have to supply food, clothes etc. to support you during the term in what is normally a hell hole.
Above article is an edited version of John Dickie’s presentation during 2014 SAFETY4SEA Forum
More details may be found by viewing his Presentation video
