It is time to stop crew abandonment in Europe

Among the numerous instances of human rights violations which have been revealed over the last few years, the scandalous abandonment of both ships and crews illustrates the worsening social conditions within international trade operations.
The abandonment of ship and crew by a ship-owner, either following a ship arrest by one or more creditors, or following a detention by port authorities for infringement of international safety rules has become commonplace today.
In France, 29 cases have been recorded by the ITF since 1997. According to a study carried out by this international transport workers’ trade union, western Europe has become the region where most crew abandonment takes place.
In such cases, the crew-members usually have not been paid for several months, but at first persist in believing that the ship-owner will eventually pay and repatriate them. By staying on board, the crew members exercise the only means of pressure available to them to avoid being totally forgotten and evicted.
The breach of contract between the ship’s agent and the ship-owner quickly leads to the total interruption of supplies to the ship and to her crew.
The port therefore finds itself with a ship confined to the quayside, with or without her cargo on board, but presenting a safety risk, having run out of fuel.
The reasons for this deterioration in the ship’s situation are no mystery : it is the fierce competition brought on by globalization of the world economy.
Some ship-owners are tempted to manage their fleet on a shoe-string, with both crews and freight charges at their lowest, and use of an “ economic ” flag : the result is ships which may be both old and ill-maintained and have a number of deficiencies with respect to international safety norms, compounded by the fact that crews are often poorly trained and paid, sometimes speaking as many different native langages as there are crew-members.
All this is facilitated by the Flag of convenience (FOC) system : an absence of genuine link between the ship-owner and the state whose flag his ship uses, leading to a dilution of responsibility among numerous intermediaries, further facilitated by the use of “ shell-companies ”.
This is basically the pattern even if some ships sailing under such flags respect international
norms and have crews paid according to ITF rates.
The recourse to “ economical ” ships by no means avoids crew abandonment in a foreign port, especially if the ship’s value is less than her total debts. Abandonment becomes, in fact, a clever stratagem to get rid of one’s debts and not to have to pay the crew.
It even happens that the ship-owner may buy back his ship at auction by means of a go-between and a borrowed name.

The global problem of crew abandonment calls for international solutions that can be applied in all countries. Their implementation throughout Europe requires specific legislation and more effective co-operation between countries.

At international level
• Secure the active support of European countries for the IMO-ILO joint working session on crew abandonment, which aims to find practical solutions to the problems involved : repatriation, support for the crew members while stranded, clarifying immigration status, and guaranteeing the payment of seafarers’ wages ;

At european level
• Urge all EU member states to ratify ILO conventions, in particular ILO 147 on minimum standards (with its protocol), ILO 166 on the repatriation of seafarers and ILO 163 and 173 on the welfare of seafarers ;
• Strengthen the provisions of EU directive 95/21 that govern the implementation of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding and relate to compliance with the social conventions covered by ILO convention 147 ; make mandatory the inspection of social conditions during Port State Control ship inspections ;
• Extend the provisions of EU directive 80/937 (which provides protection to workers in the event of an employer’s insolvency) to apply to seafarers serving on all ships that call in European ports, under whatever flag ;
• Prohibit the use of European ports by ships that do not comply with international minimum standards, including ILO convention 147 ;
• Prohibit the use of European ports by ships that do not comply with international minimum standards, including ILO convention 147 ; Improve co-operation between Port States in order to increase pressure on Flag States to abide by international legislation.

At national level
• Obtain recognition in law of the forum arresti principle (that confers on seafarers the right to have salary claims tried in the country where a ship is arrested or immobilised for a prolonged period) ; promote ratification by national governments of the International Convention on Arrest of Ships (Geneva, 1999) ;
• Improve and simplify the legal procedures governing the arrest and sale of ships where crews’ salaries, essential for their livelihood, have not been paid ; give first priority to the payment of crews’ salaries from the revenues from the auction of such ships ;
• Make Port States responsible for ensuring that abandoned seafarers have decent living conditions, have access to the national legal system to retrieve their wages, are repatriated at the ship-owner’s or Flag State’s expense, and their ship sold expeditiously in order to minimise the hardships frequently endured ;
• Make ship-owners and their agents responsible and liable for their actions when abandoning a crew without wages or means of repatriation, in violation of workers’ and human rights (as set out in article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) ;
• Incorporate the provisions of ILO conventions 163 and 173 on seafarers’ welfare into national legislation governing port activities ; ensure their effective implementation.

Ports of abandonment

1 July 1995 - 31 December 1998
Seville, Lisbon, Setubal, Papenburg, Piraeus, Bergen, Istanbul, Varna, Vigo, Limasol, Valencia, Amsterdam, Valetta, Las Palmas, Rotterdam, Ceuta, Gibraltar, Durres, Faro, Ravenna, Rouen, Sete, Naples, Marseille, Venice, la Spezia.

data by International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), “Abandoned seafarers : an abdication of responsibility”, April 1999.

Abandoned Vessels

1 July 1995 - 31 December 1998
Monica, Ebo, Jex Fortune, Samudra Rani, Katsiri Success, Lena, Maheswaran, Mona C, Palat, Seerose, Turi, West Wind, Altair, American Energy, Atlantis two, Blue tank adventurous, Elena A, Epta, Skipper LT, Warrior LT, KawKab, Captain Gem, Silver, Princess of Adriatic, Stella Ann, Dimitrios II, Iman, Porfirios, Amour, Attika hope, Craigmore, Intersea, Orion II, Selin S, Slop 4, Kimberley, Odessa Sky, Ponderosa, Sapphire seas, Semo, Lukne, Heather sea, Ursula sea, Amity union, Al Shams, Anthenor express, Cape breeze, Chaika, Dimini Eagle, Don Carlos,Dubai Valour, Eastern Star, Ganza, Golden Union, Noko K, Olympia, Pella, Romina, Spiga, Stavroula S, Tempest, Thetis, U. Alexander, Unipower, Equator Pride, Fogo Isle, Maris, Genesis Pioneer, Goddess Orori, Mas V, Delta Freedom, Delta Peace, Delta Pride, Delta Star, Delta Wave, Alexandra, Anna Bliss, Annapurna, Aquila II, Assos Bay, Atheras Bay, Bluetank Lancer, Camellia, City of Inousse, City of Piraeus, Clovoka, Eastern Navigator, Effort, Gelios, High Glory, Ionan Challenger, Ionan Sailor, Ionan Sea, Ionan Sprinter, Ionan Star, Ionan Wave, Island of Arcos, Josiff I, Kyoto I, Lourdas, Luso Tagus, Magica, Muroran, Myrtos Bay, North Star, Nova Progress, Ocean Breeze I, Ocean Fighter, Ocean Liner, Ocean Sky, Ocean Wave I, Oceania I, Polina, Rainbow II, Rokko San, Roro Sprinter, Sapphire, Scopio IV, Seabird I, Sprinter, Stainless bird, Stainless Commander, Stainless Duke, Stainless Fighter, Stainless Glory, Stainless Hawk, Stainless Hyogo, Stainless King, Stainless Kobe, Stainless Lord, Stainless Maya, Stainless Pride, Stainless Queen, Stainless Shield, Stainless Supporter, Stainless Sword, Stainless Wave, Starlight, Tanaray Star, Thunder I, Tonalaaaaa, Tutku, Varnakova, World Navigator, Magos, Giurgeni, Gorgovova, Opal, Oscar Vega, Plopeni, Smirdan, Tarcau, Dekabrist, Kommunar, Neris, President Pieck, Samarkand, Santiago de Cuba, Schs 2019, Vladimir Ilich, Volgo-Balt, Captain’s Lady, Equator Grace, Equator III, Equator Jade, Equator Jewel, Equator Pearl, Equator Rise, Equator Royal, Wan Ling, Cesme Stern, City of Sochi, City of Vergina, Potemkin, Pranburi, Hasan Bey, Aroos Al Bahar, Akademik Angel, Aldebaran, Dimitri Poluyan, Ilya Kulik, Invent, Inzhener, Yermoshkin, Ivan Moskalenko, Kapitan Smirnov, Kometa-41, Kometa-47, Lanzheron, Nazym Khikmet, Nikolaev, Nikolay Nekrasov, Pavel Mizikevich, Professor Anichkov, Tatyana, Tovarishch.

data by International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), “Abandoned seafarers : an abdication of responsibility”, April 1999.

Abandoned seafarers

Russian, Vietnamese, Pakistani, Russian, Greek, Guatemalan, Korean, Burmese, Russian, Greek, Yemeni, Pakistani, Russian, Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Burmese, Georgian, Greek, Filipino, Sri Lankan, Greek, Ukrainian, Romanian, Russian, Singaporean, Bangladeshi, Russian, Romanian, Pakistani, Greek, Romanian, Egyptian, Bosnian, Yugoslavian, Vietnamese, Russian, Maldivian, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Chinese, Burmese, Russian, Greek, Ghanaian, Portuguese, Turkish, Estonian, Lithunian, Greek, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Burmese, Nigerian, Ghanaian, Senegalese, Chilean, Greek, Tanzanian, Ethiopian, Somali, Sudanese, Pakistani, Indian, Syrian, Filipino, Indian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Greek, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Greek, Ghanaian, Portuguese, Turkish, Estonian, Lithunian, Egyptian, Syrian, Burmese, Greek, Polish, Croatian, Ghanaian, Ukrainian, Filipino, Greek, Filipino, Ghanaian, Ukrainian, Filipino, Greek, Filipino, Greek, Ghanaian, Polish, Russian,…

data by International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), “Abandoned seafarers : an abdication of responsibility”, April 1999.

Olga J. testimony

“ We came from Dakar where the ship was bought on February 4th ”, says Dominique, an engineer on the Olga J. “ We left on March 20th for the Cape Verde Islands, in order to make some repairs. In the end, we proceeded to Greece, where the repairs were supposed to cost less. Then we were asked to go to Israel to take on supplies.
We started to find all this very strange. Finally, we arrived here on September 28th 1998 ”. This is the tale of a Senegalese member of a crew of 13 initially, now down to 9.
This ferry was used for a long time by the UNHCR for transporting refugees between Liberia and neighbouring Guinea, the Greek captain deserted the ship taking the navigation instruments with him, with the help of the frontier police, and breaking up what he couldn’t remove.
The ship-owner signed a cheque to pay salaries, but it bounced, and the port authorities confined the seafarers to the quayside, with no visitors allowed. So for the last two years, they have managed to survive by begging their food from passing ships, by sending Emails around the world to tell their story, to have their rights respected and to receive their salaries in order to return to their waiting families, far from Burgas, a port on the Black Sea, in Bulgaria.

Victor testimony

“ I knew this ship was very old, but I needed to sail to earn my living, you understand ” says Oleg Golikov, chief-mate of the bulk-carrier Victor, immobilised in the port of Brest on April 4 th 2000 following a leak and generator breakdown.
On board - as well as the cargo of 3000 tons of wheat - there are 14 men whose seven months contracts have long since expired and have now been there for more than twelve months.
When the Victor docked in Brest, the Russian, Lithuanian, Latvian and Ukrainian seafarers had not been paid their wages - which varied between 500 and 1500 dollars a month - for the previous four months. The ship is in very bad condition, like a dead boat, and there is no more money and no more food on board. Off the French coast, the ship sent an SOS and was towed away by a tug.
The American ship-owner and his company based in Wilmington, De “ Seacastle Continental ”, abandoned the vessel, with her crew, and all her debts. Fed by public charity, the crew refuse to unload the ship before getting paid.
“ Now I do not want to work on this boat anymore. What I want it is to get paid and return home ”, Oleg summarises. It will need the mobilisation of trade unions and local associations to ensure that, several months later, this wish becomes reality.

Testimony of the Luigi S. and Zagara

“ I arrived on board the Luigi S. on August 24 th, 1999 ” says Arvind Kumar, her captain since she left the shipyard of Bijela in Montenegro.
“ I found a crew who had not been paid for three months, so I immediately sent a telex to the company saying that I found this completely unjustifiable ; they answered me that it would be another month before wages and plane tickets for those signing off could be obtained. ”
Eleven months later the two sister tankers, the Luigi S. and the Zagara were still at quayside, with a total of 59 Indian seafarers on board, recruited by a manning agency in Mumbai, and living on board for an average of 15 months, unpaid.
The majority of them prepared to return to their families thanks to financial help from the ITF trade union, which advanced money to the ships until they could be sold at auction. In Augusta, Sicily, another ship was experiencing the same fate.
In spite of a complex configuration of shell-companies, these three tankers and a fourth more famous one, the Erika, all led to the same man overwhelmed by his multiple businesses, the ship-owner Giuseppe Savarese.
When seafarers called him on his mobile phone to ask him to at least send enough money for food, he made them promises.
Which he never kept.

Flags of convenience

Flags of convenience (FOCs) represent 20 % of the world fleet in numbers of ships, and over 50 % in gross tonnage.
In 1998 FOC ships were responsible for 40 % of recorded shipwrecks.
Out of 36 listed oil slicks, 14 were caused by tankers flying the Liberian flag.
Twenty seven countries are regarded today as issuing flags of convenience, and stand accused of unfair practices.
Such a registration makes it possible for a ship-owning company to evade taxes, to employ seafarers on sub-standard conditions, to avoid shouldering responsibility and to protect itself from legal liability by hiding behind a multitude of “ shell-companies ”.

For further information…

http://www.ilo.org/
http://www.carta.org/
http://www.itf.org.uk/
http://www.missiontoseafarers.org/
http://attac.org/
http://www.pingouins.com/FAAM/Foyers_accueil/left_foyers_accueil.html
http://www.cf.ac.uk/masts/itf/index.html
http://www.seafarerswelfare.org/
http://www.telemer.com/
http://www.FIT.cisl.it/
http://www.europarl.eu.int/
http://www.cfdt.org/
http://www.secours-catholique.asso.fr/
http://www.caritas.org/
http://www.ccfd.asso.fr/

All photos by Olivier Aubert 2000.

Cover page : on the “Olga J.” Burgas, Bulgaria, April 2000.
Pages 12-13 : Istanbul, Turkey, February 2000.
Pages 14-15 : the “Elpida”, Port-la-Nouvelle, France, April 2000.
Pages 16-17 : on the “Olga J.” Burgas, Bulgaria, April 2000.
Pages 20-21 : on the “Olga J.” Burgas, Bulgaria, April 2000.
Pages 22-23 : on the “Zagara”. Bijela, Montenegro, July 2000.
Pages 26-27 : on the “Zagara”. Bijela, Montenegro, July 2000.
Page 28 : Alexander Bodnia, Russian trade unionist, with an article about the “Rostov”, an abandoned ship in Piraeus, St Petersburg, Russia, December 1999.
Page 29 : The “Olga J.” in the Bulgarian press, April 2000.
Page 31 : Francis, engineer on the “Olga J.”, Burgas, Bulgaria, April 2000.
Page 33 : Emmanuel, chief ingineer on the “Olga J.”, Burgas, Bulgaria, April 2000.
Pages 34-35 : Nana and Felix, seamen on the “Olga J.”, Burgas, Bulgaria, April 2000.
Page 37 : cleaning the deck on the “Victor”, Brest, France, April 2000.
Pages 38-39 : during a meeting on the “Victor”, Brest, France, April 2000.
Page 40 : bringing supplies on to the “Victor”, Brest, France, April 2000.
Page 43 : Seamen during a meeting with their lawyer on the “Luigi S.”, Bijela, Montenegro, July 2000.
Page 44 : Seamen on the “Luigi S.”, Bijela, Montenegro, July 2000.
Pages 46-47 : Captain Norbert with the seamen on the “Luigi S.”, Bijela, Montenegro, July 2000.

design and lay-out : denis boccoz