ITF secures freedom for and compensation for abandoned seafarers

ITF secures freedom for and compensation for abandoned seafarers

by The Editorial Team SAFET4SEA

 April 18, 2023

in Seafarers

Credit: ITF

ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) has secured the freedom for 13 abandoned Filipino seafarers stuck in Singapore for five months and has won $1 million back for crews.

In late March, thirteen Filipino seafarers made it home after more than five months aboard an abandoned livestock carrier ship, the Yangtze Harmony, according to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).  The ship’s owners abandoned the vessel and its crew after the ship was arrested in October 2022 in Singapore over an unpaid fuel bill. That is when the shipowner also stopped paying the entire crew, leaving them without wages or a way to get home.

By April, the crew were owed a massive USD $429,972.  The ITF said the Harmony’s Hong Kong-based shipowner had a long history of abandoning crew, and its vessels have been detained before for violating safety and crew welfare rules.

In addition to that, ITF reports that the shipping company abandoned another crew in addition to the Harmony at the same time.  Between the Yangtze Harmony (IMO 9318917) and the Yangtze Fortune (IMO 9336282), the ITF’s months of advocacy would recover USD $1 million in backpay owed to the crew, as well as flights home and the feeling of freedom for every one of the 43 thankful seafarers.

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It’s good to see the 13 crew members of the Harmony joining the 30 of the Fortune who also went home recently. In both Singapore and Australia, the ITF has been effective in our interventions to see the two crews freed, paid what they’re owed for time on board, and repatriated home safely to their families.

…said Ian Bray, National Coordinator of the Australian ITF Inspectorate.

We’ve secured for these seafarers more than a million dollars in owed wages – money that I very much doubt crew would have reached their pockets, if not for the relentless advocacy of my colleagues Matt Purcell and Sandra Bernal.

… Ian Bray added.

A tale of two abandoned ships 

Soar Harmony Shipping Ltd abandoned the Yangtze Fortune (IMO 9336282) after the Harmony’s sister vessel, also a livestock ship, was seized by the Australian Federal Court at Portland, Victoria over the owner’s refusal to make urgent repairs.

As the ITF stated, the crew of the Fortune turned out to be much more fortunate than their fellow Filipino colleagues aboard the company’s sister ship at anchorage in Singapore.

The first reason was that half the Fortune’s crew went home in a matter of weeks, rather than languishing on board for more than five months — as was experienced by the entirety of the Harmony’s crew in Singapore.

According to ITF, this was possible because the Federation lobbied to have the Fortune’s flag State reduce the ship’s minimum manning levels. The ITF was able to make the case as soon as it become clear that the Fortune would not be leaving anchorage anytime soon, with its expensive repairs still required by Australian authorities in order to sail anywhere.

Ships which are ‘laid up’ or can be considered non-operational typically don’t need the same crewing levels as ships engaged in open ocean navigation or the passage through busy shipping lanes.  For the Fortune, the change saw its minimum number fall from 30 to just 16.

The second major difference between the two crew’s experiences of abandonment comes down to support for, promotion of, and adherence to crew members’ labour and human rights by the parties with obligations, ITF stated.

In Australia, the crew had clear communication about what was happening to their case. They knew how to access shore leave and medical care.  The Fortune’s crew were visited several times by local welfare and union representatives – including the ITF. The Fortune did not have to endure months of uncertainty and confusion at their situation while the two vessels were under arrest by the respective countries’ authorities.

Crew were kept updated about likely timelines, and provided the reasons behind any delays. Efforts were made to avoid legal wrangling between parties involved in the ship’s arrest and sale, from getting in the way of seeing the seafarers at the centre of the abandonment from being paid or flown home at the earliest opportunity.

We’re all very relieved to see the crew of the Yangtzee Harmony finally going home, better yet with half a million dollars of their owed wages in hand

…said Ian Bray, National Coordinator of the Australian ITF Inspectorate.

Ian Bray also commented that  the process took more than two months longer in Singapore than it did in Australia. Adhering to the rights of seafarers shouldn’t be a lottery for crew, he stressed. Their rights are their rights no matter where they find themselves being underpaid, exploited, or abandoned. Finally, Ian Bray supported the idea that all port states must be encouraged to respond more quickly in the interests of seafarer welfare.

Singapore’s legal system leaves crew in limbo 

According to ITF, on 25 October 2022, the Singapore Sheriff court seized the Yangtze Harmony on behalf of Glander International Bunkering over an unpaid fuel bill. That began a legal process to sell the ship and pay off its debts, including the USD $429,972 in unpaid wages owed to the crew.

While lawyers, insurers and bureaucrats slowly processed the case on shore, the seafarers waited and waited. Unable to return home to the Philippines, or to work and send money in their stead, their families struggled with their absence – emotionally and financially. Some fell deeper into debt as a consequence, and in one case money ran out, leaving a seafarer’s loved one unable to pay for mounting medical bills, ITF highlighted.

It’s a complex process in any jurisdiction when a shipowner defaults on payments. But authorities must realise they have a clear responsibility under international law to act swiftly in cases where crew welfare is in jeopardy.

…said Steve Trowsdale, the ITF’s inspectorate coordinator.

Singapore ratified the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) in 2011. This specifies how cases of abandonment should be handled. Trowsdale argues that in delaying proceedings for more than five months, Singapore may have contravened the MLC.

The Guidelines on how to deal with cases of seafarer abandonment are aimed at port states (in this case, Singapore and Australia). They make clear that port states should prioritize getting crew home first and worry about money matters later.

They explain how port states can adhere to the provisions of the MLC through practical examples, such as replacing the abandoned crew, wherever possible, with a local team. Or by relieving by putting the vessel in dry dock, or shifting it to a guarded anchorage. All of these methods can reduce the number of seafarers required to stay on board for safety and watchkeeping.

Swedish quibbles while seafarers suffer 

As stated by ITF, the Swedish P&I Club provided the financial security insurance for this ship. Under the MLC, if a shipowner fails to pay crew, the insurer should pay up to four months of the owed wages and cover the cost of crew repatriation. ITF claims that the P&I club initially delayed payment, insisting that it needed a court order first.

The policy is due to be paid whether or not Swedish has a letter from the court, and whether or not Swedish thinks it can reclaim its costs. Their losses are not a concern for crew – ever. This money should have been paid out immediately to crew for their owed wages.

…said Steve Trowsdale, the ITF’s inspectorate coordinator.

Swedish Club did pay the crew; after initially getting the account number wrong, as ITF commended.

Port states must do better to protect abandoned crew’s mental health 

The seafarers on board the Yangtze Harmony were suffering from fatigue, anxiety and stress, of that there is no doubt. As would anyone dropped into a distressing and confusing situation such as this – abandoned far from home.

…said ITF’s Flags of Convenience Campaign Network Coordinator for Asia Pacific is Sandra Bernal who, according to ITF, has been leading the ITF’s advocacy on behalf of the Harmony’s crew to get the 13 seafarers home and paid.

ITF highlighted that the contrast between the way authorities in Singapore and Australia handled the two abandonment cases showed how a port state’s response to an abandonment can make a huge difference to the immediate welfare and mental health impacts for affected crew.

In Australia, efforts were made by authorities to inform crew of their rights, to check on their welfare, and to put their human needs above the commercial interests of the parties vying for a share of the ship’s sale value. There are elements of this  kind of approach that I would like to see more widely adopted across port States.

…said Sandra Bernal.

We should never make crew have to pay the price of their employer’s negligence – in money, time, or mental wellbeing. That would be blaming the victim,” Bernal concluded.

…she added