An international and local perspective
Stephen Brooks, President of theChamber of Marine Commerce,said: “Canada’s shipping sectorimpacts every aspect of our lives fromdelivering the goods we use everyday to supporting thousands of wellpaying jobs. Marine shipping providesefficient, safe and environmentallysmart transportation to manufacturing, retail and agriculture, ensuringtheir competitiveness in the globalmarketplace. With 97 per cent of ourcountry’s non-U.S. international tradecarried on ships, the marine shipping industry is integral to the successof Canada’s strategy to expand anddiversify its trading relationships.”In recognition of the importance ofmaritime commerce, this article willacknowledge the contribution that seafarers make to Canada’s internationaltrade efforts and explore some of theimportant issues these same individuals face while serving in the world’smerchant fleet.
Day of the Seafarer – Faces ofthe Sea
The Day of the Seafarer is a celebration of seafarers around the world andthose that either make their homein British Columbia or serve on themerchant fleets that visit our ports.June 25, 2013 marks the date for thethird annual International MaritimeOrganization’s (IMO) initiative. Thetheme this year is “Faces of the Sea”(last year’s campaign focussed on “Itcame by sea and I can’t live without it”).The IMO’s universal outreach and use of social media helps to raise awarenessof the vital role that seafarers play inour daily lives, enabling ships to carrymore than 90 per cent of world tradeand bring goods to our doors.
Ms. Karine Langlois, New MediaOfficer for the IMO, stated: “It is a veryimportant campaign for IMO. First ofall, the Day of the Seafarer has nowbeen included in the annual list ofUnited Nations Observances. This year,we will celebrate the third edition ofthe campaign that so far has taken theform of an online campaign, harnessing the power of social media to spreadthe message to as many people as possible.” She went on to say that “ourultimate objective with the campaignis to pay tribute to the 1.5 million seafarers for the unique and all-too-oftenoverlooked contribution to the wellbeing of the general public.” By generating interaction on the IMO web aboutseafarers, Mr. Langlois indicated that itwould be a good way for the public toshow respect, recognition and gratitude to seafarers everywhere.
International seafarers’ rights
On a global basis, Seafarers’ RightsInternational (SRI) is the leadingorganization that gives a public faceto seafarers’ issues. SRI’s mission isto advance seafarers’ rights in international and national forums throughindependent, high-quality research;education and training in laws concerning seafarers; empowerment ofseafarers to realize their rights; and toprotect their diverse interests worldwide. In summary, SRI is the publicface for those who sail to shores beyondour borders and whose contribution toour well-being that can too easily beignored.
Increased visibility and supportfor the work of the SRI demonstratesthe long-term commitment of theinternational maritime communityto promote the development and dissemination of seafarers’ laws, and toimprove seafarers’ legal rights and theirprotection under a just rule of law.
SRI places the protection of seafarers’ legal interests at the centre of itsconcerns. Important issues currentlybeing advanced by the SRI include:
Seafarers and criminalization: Itis an inherent risk in the working livesof seafarers that they may be subjectedto criminal charges either of a professional or a non-professional nature.Seafaring is transnational by nature.As seafarers transit from port to port,they are subject to the entire range ofcriminal laws of those port states. SRI reports that in any survey conductedto determine the attitudes of seafarers, in order to establish and rank theirconcerns about contemporary issues,the risk of facing criminal proceedingsbecause of their particular employment will be found high on the list oftheir worries.
Flag State responsibilities andseafarers’ rights: The United NationsConference on Trade and Developmentdata indicates that we are living inthe era of “international registries”.An “international” register – a flagopen to foreign tonnage, located inits home nation state (or in some offshore location associated with it)but closely associated with its homedomestic administration. Amongthe top 35 ship-owning countries, 17are located in Asia, 14 in Europe andfour in the Americas. Four nations -Greece, Japan, Germany and China -own almost half of the world tonnage(49.7 per cent). The United NationsConference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD) reported that the use of”open” registries has increased: an estimated 71.5 per cent of the world tonnage is now registered under foreignflag, that is, vessels operate under adifferent flag to that of the nationalityof the owner. The open-registry fleet has its highest fleet registered in thedeveloping countries of Asia. At thesame time as the creation of the international registers, the pressures ledto some deregulation of national flagrequirements, particularly the relaxation of national crewing and labourconditions, often leaving ship ownersthemselves as the self-regulators. Yet,vessel ownership does not necessarilyimply that the ship-owning nationseffectively operate or control the shipping companies. Thus, the traditionaldistinction between open flags ofregistration as compared with flagsthat cater only for national ownershas become increasingly blurred. Thissuggests that the real economic interests of a Flag State and rights of theCoastal state have become much moreindirect. SRI is concerned about theissue because there remains a considerable possibility that there will bea “patchwork” of Port State controls inwhich an internationally trading shipwould be faced with different rules inevery port it visited. This could havea detrimental impact on the rights ofthose who work aboard vessels
Abandonment of seafarers: SRIreports that the problem of abandoned seafarers is a stark one ofhuman hardship. They observe thatthe International Labour Organization(ILO) keeps a database of cases of abandonment and, given the vital role ofshipping in the global economy, thefigures should be a source of concern.Between 2001 and 2010, 136 ships and1,612 seafarers were abandoned. In2009 alone, at the height of the globaleconomic downturn, a total of 57 vessels were abandoned affecting 647seafarers. The international community has worked on a regulatory framework designed to protect seafarers andgeared to their very specific circumstances. The SRI’s perspective is thatthe international efforts have beenpainfully slow. They note that the ILOMaritime Labour Convention (MLC),which was adopted in 2006, could go along way to improving working conditions for those who earn their living atsea. But its immediate impact on theissue of abandonment remains to beseen. A policy alternative to deal withthe specific issue would be an amendment to the MLC specifically addressing the issue of abandonment. The goalwould be to create some form of a mandatory financial security net for abandoned seafarers, thereby eliminatingseafarer abandonment as an attractivebusiness decision. But while this potential international alternative solutionunfolds, SRI remains concerned thatships’ crews will continue to be abandoned, their basic rights breachedand their family life strained at best,destroyed at worst.
Maritime Labour Convention: The coming into force of the MaritimeLabour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006)in August 2013 will no doubt impactseafarers’ working conditions. Thereare a number of issues that gave rise tothe need for minimum internationalstandards for seafarers. Working andliving conditions, occupational healthand safety, causes of fatigue, crewretention and motivation, and recruitment are some of the most importantreasons. As a result, the MLC, 2006 covers conditions of employment, accommodation, food and catering, healthprotection, medical care, welfare andsocial issues, and recreational facilities.Subject to few exceptions, the convention applies to all ships – whether publicly or privately owned – ordinarily engaged in commercial activities. The issue of seafarers’complaints warrants discussion because the MLC, 2006 hasa number of requirements. Most notably, ships are requiredto have onboard procedures for the fair, effective and prompthandling of seafarers’ complaints alleging breaches of therequirements of the Convention. Seafarers have the right tocomplain directly to the master and, where they consider itnecessary, to an appropriate external authority. In addition,Port States must have procedures for complaints made whileonshore.
B.C. perspective
On a regional basis, the Mission to Seafarers’ centres atVancouver and Roberts Bank provide practical support to aseafarer’s well-being by providing a welcoming face to crewfrom around the world. Evidence of this practical concernis the “Flying Angel Club” which is located on Vancouver’swaterfront. The club offers seafarers a comfortable lounge,chapel, billiards room, used clothing store, shop for snacks,souvenirs and toiletries, telephone booths, a computer cybercafe for internet access and e-mail, international moneytransfers, cable television, XOXO and Euro Direct cards, freemagazines and books. Mass can be held either at the Missionor on board ship when requested. Three Chaplains visit shipsand are always available.British Columbia’s shipping industry leaders also recognize the important work that seafarers perform. CaptainStephen Brown, President Chamber of Shipping of BritishColumbia stated: “International trade has never been moreimportant to the people of British Columbia and our fellowCanadians than it is today. Whether it is the clothes we wear,the cars we drive, the coffee we drink or the computers thatshape our careers, we have a dependence on the reliabilityof shipping to meet our daily lifestyle expectations. Around80,000 ships trading internationally, manned by hundredsof thousands of seafarers, are responsible for safely executing more than 90 per cent of the world’s trade. We owe theman enormous debt of gratitude for the professional mannerin which they quietly go about their business. May we taketime to spare them a thought and wish them well on this2013 International Day of the Seafarer.
Conclusions
The IMO is asking people around the world to say “Thankyou, seafarers” on Facebook, via tweets, by posting a videoon Youtube, discussing it on LinkedIn, or writing an inspirational blog. On June 25, the IMO is asking different groupsto contribute in slightly different ways to this year’s theme:Faces of the Sea. For example: ship owners and companies arebing asked to take photos of their staff and post them on asocial platform of their choice, and tell how many of theiremployees are currently at sea. The IMO is asking retailersor charterers to take a photo of their most popular productpost it on a channel and say “thank you, seafarer”. This year,seafarers are also asked to participate, so for those who haveinternet access, the IMO would like to see photos with a surprising angle or some aspect of their work at sea.The Day of the Seafarer is not only an opportunity to raise awareness of the vital role that shipping and seafarers play in the international trade that supports B.C.’s portsand Canada’s economy, but the occasion also affords us anopportunity to reflect more deeply on some of the issuesoccurring globally that impact seafarers’ well-being. Bygiving a face to these issues, some BC Shipping News readers may feel inclined to financially support the efforts oflocal organizations such as the Mission to Seafarers andthe Apostleship of the Sea. Others may feel inclined to takea more active interest in the scope of work in which theChamber of Shipping of British Columbia or the Chamber ofMaritime Commerce are involved. The business communityin our province is well served when both global and localseafaring issues are adequately supported and addressed.
Darryl Anderson
Managing Director, Wave Point Consulting
Above article has been initially published at BC Shipping News (June 2013) and also Wave Point Consulting blog and is reproduced here with kind permission