On the front line with the ITF Inspectors
2001
More and more ITF Inspectors are joining the front line of the battle against sub-standard shipping. Beginning with a handful of Inspectors in the early 1970s, there are now 120 Inspectors, employed by ITF affiliates in 40 countries, who work every day to expose ships that fail to abide by minimum social and safety standards and protect the interests of crews. ITF Inspectors perform around 8,000 inspections on suspect vessels around the world per year. They encourage the managers of such vessels to take up an ITF agreement for their crew, thus imposing minimum standards and wages on board.
Unscrupulous shipowners
A very annoyed French Inspector, Pascal Pouille, came across a ship owned/managed by a company named Roussos…
The crew received “as advances” the exact difference between their original Greek contracts and the ITF Uniform TCC agreement that was signed. Apparently every single Able Seaman wanted a monthly advance of US$500.20 while he was away at sea. It was only later they realised they had been double crossed…
Cruise ship scandal
A luxury for passengers, a nightmare for the crew. The Cyprus-flagged cruise ship Joywave elicited these responses from our Cruise Campaign Director Jim Given following his inspection at Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic…
I thought I’d seen it all, but I have never seen living conditions as bad as these. Until we arrived the crew were sleeping six to a six foot by 10 foot room, into which three bunks were crammed. There was one working toilet for 100 men and women and two showers for the lot of them.
We heard that this ship was so bad that we came mob handed: three of us, and I tell you none of us has ever seen such a pigsty. It’s inhuman. The first thing we have done is to get the crew out of their ‘quarters’ and into the passenger accommodation, which – surprise! – is clean and comfortable.
Slaves get better treated than this and pigs get better fed. No washing machine. No eating utensils. No medical supplies. They were given fruit once: one orange between two.
The ITF secured agreement for full payment of money due to the crew plus severance pay and repatriation costs. The crew was made up of Lithuanians, Cubans, Romanians, Indonesians and Poles. The officers were Romanian and Greek, with a Greek master.
Good, bad and the ugly…
Alex Mahendran and Gwee Guo Dang of the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union share their experience during the ITF Asia/Pacific Week of Action in 2000…
There were questions we asked ourselves when boarding the ships. Is the ship’s condition acceptable? Are safety standards compromised? Are there proper records kept on board the vessel? Are the living conditions for crew members acceptable? Have they been paid their due wages?
We boarded a Cyprus-flag ship together with a Filipino manning agent. It was a request from the ITF for us to witness the back payment of overtime work for six crew members. The six received a total of US$5,879.
A Panama ship we boarded was a fairly decent vessel. Manned by an Indian crew, with an average of nine years of service with the company, the officers and members greeted us warmly. The vessel was well kept and in good condition. They were very forthcoming when we explained our presence on board.
The highlight of our ship visit was a Honduras-flag vessel. When we boarded the gangway of the general cargo ship, it did not seem to be properly secured.
We had to be very careful treading up the steps. We scrutinised the vessel for its safety conditions. There were worried faces from the master and his crew when they saw us. The signs were there – that this was a sub-standard vessel.
Nevertheless, the officers and crew members were co-operative. They did not try to hide anything and were rather open with us when we interviewed them.
What the interview revealed was surprising. The ship’s Master was paid a miserable US$1,300 per month and the AB seafarers earned only an average of US$315.
Living conditions on board the vessel were far from adequate. Sleeping quarters were crammed – four crew members were squeezed into a bunker meant for two. And there was only one toilet and wash area. The manning agent had not provided basic essentials such as laundry, lashing or other allowances.
The seafarers just ate whatever was provided and their mess room was largely occupied with cargo. After meeting up with the crew, action was promised by the authorities, as the vessel was clearly sub-standard.
(November 2000), the Journal of the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union.
More and more ITF Inspectors are joining the front line of the battle against sub-standard shipping. Beginning with a handful of Inspectors in the early 1970s, there are now 120 Inspectors, employed by ITF affiliates in 40 countries, who work every day to expose ships that fail to abide by minimum social and safety standards and protect the interests of crews. ITF Inspectors perform around 8,000 inspections on suspect vessels around the world per year. They encourage the managers of such vessels to take up an ITF agreement for their crew, thus imposing minimum standards and wages on board.
Unscrupulous shipowners
A very annoyed French Inspector, Pascal Pouille, came across a ship owned/managed by a company named Roussos…
The crew received “as advances” the exact difference between their original Greek contracts and the ITF Uniform TCC agreement that was signed. Apparently every single Able Seaman wanted a monthly advance of US$500.20 while he was away at sea. It was only later they realised they had been double crossed…
Cruise ship scandal
A luxury for passengers, a nightmare for the crew. The Cyprus-flagged cruise ship Joywave elicited these responses from our Cruise Campaign Director Jim Given following his inspection at Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic…
I thought I’d seen it all, but I have never seen living conditions as bad as these. Until we arrived the crew were sleeping six to a six foot by 10 foot room, into which three bunks were crammed. There was one working toilet for 100 men and women and two showers for the lot of them.
We heard that this ship was so bad that we came mob handed: three of us, and I tell you none of us has ever seen such a pigsty. It’s inhuman. The first thing we have done is to get the crew out of their ‘quarters’ and into the passenger accommodation, which – surprise! – is clean and comfortable.
Slaves get better treated than this and pigs get better fed. No washing machine. No eating utensils. No medical supplies. They were given fruit once: one orange between two.
The ITF secured agreement for full payment of money due to the crew plus severance pay and repatriation costs. The crew was made up of Lithuanians, Cubans, Romanians, Indonesians and Poles. The officers were Romanian and Greek, with a Greek master.
Good, bad and the ugly…
Alex Mahendran and Gwee Guo Dang of the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union share their experience during the ITF Asia/Pacific Week of Action in 2000…
There were questions we asked ourselves when boarding the ships. Is the ship’s condition acceptable? Are safety standards compromised? Are there proper records kept on board the vessel? Are the living conditions for crew members acceptable? Have they been paid their due wages?
We boarded a Cyprus-flag ship together with a Filipino manning agent. It was a request from the ITF for us to witness the back payment of overtime work for six crew members. The six received a total of US$5,879.
A Panama ship we boarded was a fairly decent vessel. Manned by an Indian crew, with an average of nine years of service with the company, the officers and members greeted us warmly. The vessel was well kept and in good condition. They were very forthcoming when we explained our presence on board.
The highlight of our ship visit was a Honduras-flag vessel. When we boarded the gangway of the general cargo ship, it did not seem to be properly secured.
We had to be very careful treading up the steps. We scrutinised the vessel for its safety conditions. There were worried faces from the master and his crew when they saw us. The signs were there – that this was a sub-standard vessel.
Nevertheless, the officers and crew members were co-operative. They did not try to hide anything and were rather open with us when we interviewed them.
What the interview revealed was surprising. The ship’s Master was paid a miserable US$1,300 per month and the AB seafarers earned only an average of US$315.
Living conditions on board the vessel were far from adequate. Sleeping quarters were crammed – four crew members were squeezed into a bunker meant for two. And there was only one toilet and wash area. The manning agent had not provided basic essentials such as laundry, lashing or other allowances.
The seafarers just ate whatever was provided and their mess room was largely occupied with cargo. After meeting up with the crew, action was promised by the authorities, as the vessel was clearly sub-standard.
(November 2000), the Journal of the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union.
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