RMI – Marine Safety Advisory No.29-13
The Republic of the Marshall Islands has issued Marine Safety Advisory No. 29-13 in order to bring to the attention that local Argentina Maritime Workers Union (SOMU) has stated that, as of June 2013, they will not allow the entrance of any vessel to the port of Ingeniero White (Bahia Blanca) flying flags which do not have onboard a valid ITF certificate.
Local ships agents at Bahia Blanca have stated that SOMU requires all ships to have an ITF BlueCard in order to have tugboat services provided. The Maritime Administrator received this same information after calling the Prefectura NavalArgentina (Maritime Traffic Control) and the Agencia Maritima Internacional.
So far supposedlythe only port affected with this measure is Bahia Blanca, and the Republic of the MarshallIslands (RMI) flag is indeed among the affected flags. It is our understanding from research conducted earlier this week that on 20 August 2013 this requirement is meant to fall away infavor of MLC, 2006 compliance, which for RMI flagged ships should not be a problem.
At the current moment, a Blue Card would appear to be the only ticket in. The Blue Card must be issued by ITF, which is the International Transportation Workers´Federation, a Global Union Federation that represents the interests of its affiliates worldwidebased in London, UK.
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Source: The Republic of the Marshall Islands