Carrying the day College helps put RN’s new flagship out onto the sea 24
Making port calls How can seafarers get better internet access ashore? 23
NL nieuws Vier pagina’s met nieuws uit Nederland 32-35
Volume 50 | Number 09 | September 2017 | £3.50 €3.70
‘Don’t allow this to happen again’ Nautilus says crew’s unpaid wages scandal shows the need for tougher action by government
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The UK government is facing fresh calls to combat unfair competition in the country’s waters following further court action over the Indian crew of an offshore support vessel who have been stranded in Aberdeen for 15 months. Hopes that the ordeal of the 12 seafarers may be nearing an end rose last month when Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that the Union Bank of India no longer objected to the sale of the vessel and Sheriff William Summer ruled that brokers should produce a report before the sale could be granted. The court heard that the crew were owed a total of US$867,799 (£668,669) in wages as of 24 July — and it is hoped that the sale of the Indian-flagged vessel could cover the costs of settling their claims. The saga began in June last year, when the 3,001gt vessel was detained by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency because of owed wages and invalid Seafarers’ Employment Agreements. The ship’s owners — GOL Offshore — paid the £175,000 owed wages and Malaviya Seven was released from detention on 4 August last year. However, the ship was detained again on 5 October — once again with unpaid wages, invalid SEAs and defective fire doors, pumps and pipework. In February this year, sistership Malaviya Twenty was arrested in the port of Great Yarmouth after Nautilus/ITF inspector Paul Keenan found evidence that its 12 crew were owed more than $280,000. The ship had been detained by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency in July after an inspection revealed deficiencies including non-payment of wages, invalid SEAs and minimum safe manning. Malaviya Twenty’s crew returned home in March after the bank which owned the vessel agreed to pay a total of $689,679
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Study shows the value of UK shipping massive economic contribution F made by the UK maritime sector is A new study revealing the
set to be published during London International Shipping Week in September. Produced by Maritime UK — whose members include Nautilus, the UK Chamber of Shipping, ports, and marine and business services — the report updates earlier research which showed that the sector supports more than 500,000 jobs, contributes £22.2bn to UK GDP and that the value of trade passing through the country’s ports totals around £500tn a year. The report’s findings — which also cover the sector’s productivity and tax contributions — will be launched at a Parliamentary reception attended by shipping minister John Hayes. g LISW looks at jobs — see page 2.
Inside F Branching out
Don’t miss the Union’s UK branch conference in October — page 18 F The write stuff
Veteran member’s work to record the achievements of the Merchant Navy — pages 28-29
Some of Malaviya Seven’s crew are pictured with Aberdeen port chaplain Howard Dysdale before last month’s court hearing Picture: Jonathan Mitchell
to 33 crew who were owed wages dating back to October 2015. But Malaviya Seven’s crew have had to remain on their ship while long-running and complex legal efforts were made to resolve their plight. ITF UK and Ireland coordinator Ken Fleming described the case as a disgrace and said that the court had treated the crew as a commercial asset, with no sympathy shown for their suffering. He said the company had ‘appeared and disappeared, appeared and disappeared’ and accused it of playing with the legal system. ‘I am glad that we have made progress, but you could not describe such a scandal as a vic-
tory,’ he told the Telegraph. ‘We need to learn from this and make sure nothing like this happens again.’ Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson said the UK should follow the example of Australia and ban ships that are repeatedly found to have substandard living and working conditions. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) last month barred the Bahamasflagged bulk carrier Rena from the country’s ports for six months after inspections revealed that the owners had failed to pay outstanding wages and maintain a safe workplace for its crew. The checks were carried out after AMSA received a complaint
from the ITF alleging the crew were owed several months of wages. Port state control inspectors found that seafarers were owed a total of US$53,000 and that the ship also had safety management system deficiencies, and problems with the lifeboat starting arrangements and the emergency generator. AMSA said the deficiencies were serious enough to warrant immediate detention of the ship, which had also been detained in February at Port Adelaide with deficiencies including crew working excess hours. AMSA’s general manager of operations, Allan Schwartz, said: ‘The failure of the ship operator to ensure that the ship is effectively
managed along with the repeated failures of the ISM Code and Maritime Labour Convention, is a clear indication the ship is not being operated to meet applicable minimum standards. The length of time taken to rectify the outstanding issues, particularly in relation to crew welfare, is completely unacceptable.’ Mr Dickinson commented: ‘It is good to see a port state control authority taking a tough line with such unacceptable practices. It is certainly an approach that the UK could benefit from, as our ships and our seafarers are suffering as a consequence of the unfair competition that these vessels present.’ g MLC agreement — see page 3.
F Health kick
New study shows seafarers are trying to stay fit, but are suffering more fatigue and stress — pages 20-21
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