ITF Inspectors: All in a day’s work

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2005

The daily routines of the men and women in the front line of the campaign against flags of convenience and substandard shipping

Annica Barning, Stockholm, Sweden
Every morning starts with the same routine, I check my ports on the internet – most of the ports have their own websites – to see if there are any interesting vessels to visit.

This morning, I found a couple of vessels so I went on to check them all in the ITF’s computer database, where I find all the useful information I need to decide which vessel to visit.

After checking whether the ships have ITF collective agreement status, their crew lists and prior ship visits made by my fellow Inspectors, I decide to visit a vessel flying an Antigua and Barbuda flag. According to the ITF records there was a claim for an agreement made months ago by my colleague in Latvia, but none was signed. I also find a report from another Inspector in Germany indicating problems with crew pay and overtime compensation.

My destination will be the port of Köping. Since it is a 170km drive I have plenty of time to contact people in the port, including the dockers’ union representative. His name is Mike and he’s one of the best. It’s very important to keep him informed in case we need assistance from the dockers, for example to boycott the vessel.

By now the ITF head office in London has opened, so I call to get some more detailed information and I’m told that there is an agreement after all.

Finally I reach my destination. I meet two deck ratings on deck and we talk for a while and they tell me how much they earn, how many hours they work and how long their contracts are. Then I move on to see the captain. He turns out to be a man with a strange sense of humour and doesn’t want to show me any documents whatsoever, but I can be quite persuasive in these situations and after some discussions he gives me access to the ship’s files. Nothing indicates foul play, but some documents are missing. I call my ITF colleague in Latvia and he contacts the company about the missing documents and reminds them that they are obliged to keep them on board. The company promises to send them immediately.

I talk to the crew again and, if something is wrong, they do a good job of hiding it. I thank them for their time and leave the vessel. I manage to track down Mike so I can tell him that there will be no problems with this vessel and that the discharge of its cargo can continue without interruption.

I drive back to Stockholm and start my report for the ITF’s computer records. I always try to make my report as detailed as possible, because I know how important it is to have all the facts for the next Inspector who will visit this vessel.

Shwe Tun Aung, Houston, USA
I have been an Inspector now for two years (since February 2003) working for the ITF and the Seafarers’ International Union in Texas. But I still remember my very first inspection, which was settled with a payment of US$34,846 and plane tickets home for the Russian crew. Even today, Capt Vladimir V Dovzhenko expresses his appreciation and keeps in touch with me.

Before becoming an Inspector, I had five years as an AB on flag of convenience ships. During those years at sea I underwent many experiences and hardships, such as substandard living conditions, low wages, lack of pay, insufficient food, unfair treatment, inadequate medical attention and so forth. So I take my job of assisting seafarers seriously and take great pleasure in helping them.

Every morning, I check emails and review the Houston port traffic information website for incoming vessels to plan the day’s preliminary inspection schedule. Priority is given to emergency calls from crew members. For routine inspections, I first check the prior case history of the vessels on the ITF online information database.

On my way to my first inspection, I take time to talk to the port chaplain, port vendors and others who are working at the port to gather some other insight or information about vessels and their crew members.

When I receive complaints from crews, each seafarer is first interviewed privately to understand his or her side of the story. Then, I discuss the nature of the complaints with the captain and try to resolve the matter in accordance with the collective agreement or employment contract. In the case of owed wages, I contact the vessel’s owner and return to the vessel on the day that back wages are paid to make sure that all crew members receive what they are owed.

All inspection routines are documented properly into the ITF’s online database. It always feels great to be of assistance to any crew members who have been treated unfairly. It is a delight to receive thank-you notes and Christmas cards from many crew members who greatly appreciate the great service and mission of the ITF.

Cassiem Augustus, Cape Town, South Africa
I arrive in the office and firstly go through the newspaper to check port movements. Then it’s phone calls to different ports to gather more information and then contact the ITF online to find out if any vessels have been assigned to me for inspecting.

The vessels are then sorted out by priority starting with visits requested by crews, then vessels that have had problems on them whether or not covered by an ITF agreement. The next categories are ships without an agreement followed by vessels that are covered by an agreement.

Before starting the inspections, I check that the ship is the correct one by looking at its name, International Maritime Organisation number and the flag.

The next step, while going up the gangway and on deck, is to make a visual inspection
for defaults. Such a check can tell you a lot of things about working and living conditions. Then I speak to the crew to find out what their wages are. On my way to see the captain I check the kitchen and stores.

After gathering all the information I need from the captain, I would then provide him with ITF publications and warn the captain to inform the crew about HIV/Aids and wish all crew a happy trip to their next destination.

All going well, this is the routine for subsequent vessels. Then at the end of the day I write reports on the inspections for the ITF’s computer records.

Fusao Ohori, Yokohama, Japan
Many messages from seafarers arrive by phone and email. They can be about everything from defective safety equipment to requests for information. The latest call was from a Russian captain who asked me to get in touch with Nagoya port authority to know whether his ship was available to berth – as if he thought I was a local agent!
One day an Indonesian crew member called me to consult about his physical condition.

He had his left arm fractured three months before when his ship was in Shimizu with tuna from the Pacific.

He was very worried about being able to continue working when I met him on board. He showed me the x-ray which a Japanese doctor had given him. I told him he should see another doctor at his next port, Pusan, Korea, because the fracture still looked serious.

Then I asked the captain to make sure he got to a hospital. While on board I also found out that the man had not been paid in accordance with his employment contract. I called the ship’s owner to request payment of his back wages.

Eventually, the crew member had an operation in Pusan, stayed there for a month with support from the local ITF Inspector and was repatriated to Indonesia with his back wages.

Another call came in the other day from an agent in Kawasaki about problems on a ship with a mixed nationality crew. I met two Indonesian crew members in the local office of the agent. They had already decided not to return to the ship. They told me about problems with safety in the engine room. The crewing agent in Jakarta, Indonesia, had already arranged replacements and did not want to pay the repatriation costs of two crew members, arguing that their decision to sign off had not been the result of the company’s negligence.

I called the port state control officer to request that he investigate the ship. He found a lack of safety measures in the main engine and the vessel was detained for two weeks. Finally, both Indonesian crew members were repatriated.

One recent email highlighted the problem of outstanding wages. A Chinese seafarer said he was owed wages of about US$9,000. Such cases cause serious problems for the crew and their families.

I have always recommended seafarers, whenever possible, to get information on a ship by consulting the Equasis website (www.equasis.org). The Equasis scheme is supported by many global maritime organisations, including the ITF.

Once registered with Equasis, seafarers can find out a ship’s owner, manager, year of build, type of ship, gross tonnage, port state control record and whether it is covered by an ITF agreement.

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