The current wave of grim casualties can not just be crossed out as misfortune, states Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI), the worldwide pan-industry body looking into maritime as well as seafarers’ regulation.
It explains that the failing to deal with seafarers as keyworkers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is having disastrous impacts on people, that are currently in jeopardy of being captured in an excellent tornado of fatigue from prolonged employment contract, raising varieties of crashes, maritime casualties, as well as unjust criminal examinations.
“The response to this seems to be to blame the seafarer,” states Deirdre Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of SRI. “The spotlight should be on how the industry responds to these recent casualties. Has COVID-19 played a part in these situations? Will there be fair investigations – as mandatorily required under the IMO Code for Safety Investigations – so lessons can be learned to prevent further tragic loss of seafarers’ lives and damage to the marine environment?”
Image Credits: seafarerswelfare.com
Brian Orrell, OBE, Chairman of the Board of SRI, that led the seafarers in the joint IMO/ILO arrangements that generated the Guidelines on the Fair Treatment of Seafarers in the Event of a Maritime Accident as well as in the arrangements that led to the Maritime Labour Convention, concurs: “If there ever was a time for fair treatment of seafarers, that time is now. Fair treatment of seafarers following casualties and in working conditions are based on international standards that must be followed even in very difficult times,” he states.
Amongst the current wave of casualties was the Panamanian- signed up mass service provider Wakashio which ran marooned on a reef south of Mauritius, spilling an approximated 1000 tonnes of oil as well as eventually bring about the fatality of 2 participants of the tugboat associated with the oil spill clean-up. An very early feedback from the Government of Mauritius has actually been to detain the Captain as well as the Chief Officer.
Then early in September, the Panamanian- signed up vessel, Gulf Livestock 1, was unfortunately shed with about 40 staff participants as well as virtually 6,000 livestock inTyphoon Maysak This information came as firefighting teams from Sri Lanka as well as India were functioning to produce a huge blaze aboard the Panamanian- signed up oil vessel,New Diamond One Filipino staff participant passed away, as well as one was wounded in the engine space surge that triggered the fire.
SRI Advisory Board Member Dave Heindel, Chairman of the ITF Seafarers’ Section, as well as Jacqueline Smith, the ITF Maritime Coordinator have actually continuously cautioned versus the harmful impacts of COVID-19, exhaustion as well as safety and security mixed-up: “These maritime casualties need to re-ignite the dispute on just how significant the sector has to do with minimizing the variety of reported delivery cases as well as taking on slow-moving or non-existent examinations right into maritime casualties, among the sector’s most well-known safety and security imperfections.
“Massive decreases in shore leave and onshore medical treatment are being accompanied by inordinate periods of service on board contrary to rights of seafarers under the Maritime Labour Convention. This leads to chronic fatigue. And that exposes the safety of crews and the protection of the marine environment to much greater risks.”
Reference: seafarersrights.org
