Tag: abandonment of seafarers

In 2018, ISWAN launched a campaign to alert the shipping industry on the issue of unregistered crewing agencies in India; Now, the Network presents the campaign's results and what follows next. Yet, up to now, there are many unregistered crewing agencies operating in India, resulting to seafarers facing poor working conditions onboard and sea time, to unpaid wages and abandonment.

The first version of the inaugural 'Geneva Declaration on Human Rights at Sea' is published by Human Rights at Sea after the initial drafting session was held in Switzerland on 20-21 March 2019 at the Graduate Instiute of International and Development Studies, Geneva.

ISWAN, in partnership with InterManager, ICS, ICMA and ITF, issued a new booklet, entitled 'Arrested and Detained Vessels, and Abandoned Seafarers', providing guidance to welfare organisations dealing with incidents of seafarers being abandoned and vessels being arrested or detained.

UK Human Rights at Sea published a third Abandonment of Seafarers Case Study, on behalf of Indian seafarer AB Mayur Gawade. The publication follows the case study on behalf of Captain Ayyappan Swaminathan, Master of the MV Azraqmoiah and the case study concerning the abundance of the eight Indian seafarers in Walvis Bay.

Human Rights at Sea published the first of a series of case studies on the families of Indian seafarers that are still abandoned for more than 33 months, offshore the UAE. HRAS's latest publication 'Abandonment. A Pattern of Human Rights Abuse' aims to alert the public's awareness of the consequences to those who suffer, including the family members left behind.

The crew of Venezuelan oil tanker 'Rio Arauca' is set to be dismissed, almost two years after being stuck in the middle of the river Tagus in Lisbon due to unpaid debt, according to managers Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM). The Rio Arauca arrived in Lisbon in May 2017, but has been inactive and unable to dock since then.

Eight Indian seafarers have been abandoned in Walvis Bay, between the timeframe of one and two years, onboard the St. Vincent and Grenadines-flagged vessel, Halani 1. The abandonment resulted to seafarers' suffering from fatigue and serious mental health problems. As a result, the UK-based Charity 'Human Rights at Sea' stated that Captain Amarjit Singh Bajwa first contacted the charity’s Iran-based researcher, Hajar Hejazi, to appeal for urgent help.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF)  expressed its opposition, within a statement, to the decision of BHP to fire Australian crew from two vessels that carried iron ore from Port Hedland in Western Australia to steelworks in Port Kembla and to China. 

British charity Apostleship of the Sea issued their Life at Sea report detailing cases they have encountered while providing support to seafarers around the world in 2017-2018. These stories, summarizing the eight challenges that crews of today have to face, aim to demonstrate that, by working in partnership, we can all improve the lives of seafarers and fishermen around the world.

British human rights charity 'Justice Upheld' has started a petition for 40 seafarers from India, Sudan, Tanzania, Eritrea and Ethiopia, who have been deliberately abandoned at sea on ships owned by an UAE-based shipping company for over 27 months without pay.