Following the escalation of diplomatic tensions between Western countries and Iran, involving aggressive action against merchant shipping and Iran’s seizure of the British-flagged, Swedish-owned oil tanker Stena Impero and its 23 crew, the International Bargaining Forum (IBF) is holding discussio
“For over three years, Gennadiy Gavrylov has been stranded in Sri Lanka desperate to go home, while Sri Lankan authorities refuse to grant him permission to leave the country,” said ITF general secretary Stephen Cotton.
The ITF has continued its cooperation with the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a high-level meeting in Dubai.
As has been widely reported, Captain Rackete was taken into custody after carrying 40 migrants and refugees that she had rescued off Libya into the Italian Port of Lampedusa, despite attempts by the Italian Coastguard to block the rescue boat from entering the port.
There were events to celebrate the International Day of the Seafarer, 25 June, throughout the world.
Despite the name, the National Union of Seafarers Sri Lanka (NUSS) is not just for seafarers.
Since 2018 the NUSS has been organising informal dockworkers and fishers, contract logistics workers and, most recently, self-employed taxi drivers.
In the Gulf of Guinea, piracy and armed robbery have been long-standing problems, but in recent years the frequency of attacks is increasing in this region. The severity of this issue and the treatment of the crews is worsening, with ruthless and inhumane acts of violence.
Two marine tankers, the Marshall Islands-flagged Front Altair and the Panamanian-flagged Kokuka Courageous, were left abandoned and adrift after what appear to be attacks on the vessels while transiting the Gulf of Oman.
This is the latest instalment in one of most notorious cases of abandonment that the ITF has seen in years, and the third crew onboard the UAE-flagged tanker that have been successfully repatriated after being abandoned at sea by Alco Shipping Services.
The Joint Negotiating Group (JNG) of maritime employers and the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) strongly urge companies to ensure that they are in full compliance with the upcoming changes to the terms and conditions which will affect ships’ cargo handling operations in ports.
