Human Rights at Sea published a review presenting “an ongoing humanitarian crisis at sea and the continued violation of seafarers’ human and labour rights.”
In this report, HRAS identifies 10 key items that have affected and are continuing to affecting seafarers’ wellbeing. These are:
#1 Crew Change
In December 2020, the UN General Assembly and the International Labour Organization (ILO) each passed landmark resolutions, pressuring national governments to help restimulate the crew change system. ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton responded in a press release, asserting that
The global movement to recognise that seafarers need travel, transit and border exemptions and practical quarantine rules, is gaining momentum. Governments are starting to realise that they need to act now if they want to avoid being blamed for this pressing humanitarian – and potentially economic – crisis. The heat is on
Despite these promising levels of mainstream media coverage, the maritime press soon reported that the crew change crisis was not improving.
A dominant concern was that, while shipowners and managers had been attempting to facilitate crew change, nations and ports were preventing the process from taking place.
#2 Key Worker Status
Throughout the pandemic, several countries identified certain professions and occupations as essential services, which were given ‘key worker’ status.
This label helped categorise and secure the jobs considered essential to a safe and functioning society, such as those related to health, security, and infrastructure. Some countries afforded seafarers ‘key worker’ status, recognising their role in maintaining the global supply chain.
In theory, this would have enabled seafarers to travel to and from work without the transit, testing and quarantine restrictions required for those whose work was not considered essential.
In practice, however, the system was underpinned by national health, safety and security challenges which prevented it from having its intended effect.
This is a human rights issue. Seafarers’ lives are being made impossible through the crew change difficulties and this can only have a detrimental effect on ship safety and on the supply chain, the longer the situation continues
IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim, said.
#3 Contract Duration
Without the ability to be repatriated or travel home during the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of seafarers were forced to work beyond their agreed contractual work periods.
In many cases, this resulted in seafarers remaining on board for upwards of 11 months, which is the maximum term that a seafarer may serve on a vessel without leave, as per the provisions of the MLC 2006.
These extensive periods of service are detrimental to the well-being and safety of seafarers, particularly given the inherently dangerous working environments
said HRAS.
In the ILO Information note on maritime labour issues and coronavirus (COVID-19), the Committee of Experts noted the worldwide disregard for the provisions of the MLC 2006. The information note asserted that:
Whatever the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the extension of seafarers’ period of service on board beyond 11 months can no longer be considered as a solution to the problem of crew change
#4 Mental Well-being
The disruptions to crew change and the consequentially extensive periods of time spent working at sea or languishing in foreign countries without passage home has fostered what has been referred to as a ‘mental health crisis’ in the global shipping industry.
In a report drawing from a range of third-party sources, risk consulting firm Kroll outlined the dominant threats to the mental and physical health of seafarers which arose because of poor crew wellbeing.
Fatigue, depression, and suicides were increasing, with some mental health issues attributed to malnutrition and insomnia.
The report noted that attention toward safety regulations had depleted among severely burned-out crewmembers, posing additional risks.
Collectively, seafarers are tired, they are irritated and feeling angry that they are constant pawns in the logistical chess of geopolitics in a pandemic
stated Seafarers Happiness Index founder Steven Jones.
#5 Minimum Wage
In April 2021, minimum wage talks at the ILO broke down between shipowners and unions after a rise to seafarers’ standard baseline wage was rejected.
Represented by the ICS, shipowners had proposed a 3% pay rise over three years, whereas unions wanted at least a 6.5% rise beginning in 2022.
The ITF accused the ICS of undermining the seafarers’ minimum wage formula determined by the ILO, amounting to $683 per month, which is greater than the current $641.
#6 Underpayment & Non-Payment of Salary
In the earliest months of COVID-19, Nautilus International published reports from HRAS48 regarding a spike in wages withheld from seafarers, and a dramatic surge in the number of seafarers seeking assistance since the pandemic began.
As observed by HRAS, seafarers were already reporting nonpayment of salaries, as well as cases of being left in foreign states to pay hotel bills and arrange flights home using their own funds.
#7 Crew Abandonment
In late October 2021, the ILO and IMO Database on reported incidents of abandonment of seafarers listed 114 cases of abandonment since March 2020.
According to the IMO, the accuracy of this database is critical in resolving incidents of abandonment and providing information to the public.
In December 2020, reported cases of seafarer abandonment were already at a record high. It was also noted that the original MLC 2006 did not provide for financial security in the case of abandonment. Under guidelines written into the convention in 2014, shipowners must have insurance to cover the abandonment of seafarers.
#8 Family Impact
For the thousands of seafarers stranded on vessels or on foreign shores during the pandemic, the predominant concern was, and continues to be, for family welfare.
The impact of a seafarer’s financial challenges often becomes a major burden for those at home, as the individual is usually the sole breadwinner for their family. In some cases, their income supports a large extended family, or even a community.
Maritime charities have been at the forefront of caring for seafarers’ families, however outside of these welfare circles, the issue of family impact seldom receives an adequate level of attention.
– Almost 50% of seafarers supported three or more people with their income
– 71% of seafarers considered Wi-Fi units essential [for staying connected with family]
– The most significant concern for seafarers was feeding their families.
#9 Denial of Medical Care Ashore
In the earliest months of the pandemic, Nautilus International reported that port authorities were refusing to give seafarers access to basic medical care.
Speaking to Nautilus, a crewmember expressed concern relating to their health and the potential spread of the virus. The individual observed that shipping companies were struggling to convince port authorities to provide basic medical care. At this stage, the seafarers were instead being forced to receive medical advice via radio.
#10 COVID-19 Vaccination
Seafarer vaccination efforts had gained momentum in several developed countries by May 2021, with vaccination programmes in the United States of America, Australia and the Netherlands, as well as a push for the United Kingdom to become an international seafarer vaccination hub.
Around the same time, Belgium was also reportedly at the forefront of seafarer vaccination programmes.
However, despite the initial success of international seafarer vaccination strategies, the ITF highlighted the lack of vaccine availability in many parts of the world and called on world leaders to endorse universal access to COVID-19 vaccines.
EXPLORE MORE ON HRAS’S REVIEW OF SEAFARERS’ RIGHTS
