News Update – 1st to 7th July
ITF rallies behind Aqaba families, strikers after chlorine horror kills 13, injures 250 | ITF Seafarers – 1st July
The ITF Seafarers’ Trust has made a USD $55,000 emergency grant to enable local unions to help the families of those who have died or are in a serious condition, following a release of noxious chlorine gas at the port of Aqaba, Jordan this week.
German dock workers gain international backing over inflation protection strikes | ITF Seafarers – 3rd July
Maritime unions are mobilising support for German ITF affiliate ver.di as the union battles port companies for an inflation-proof pay deal covering 12,000 dock workers.
https://www.itfseafarers.org/en/news/german-dock-workers-gain-international-backing-over-inflation-protection-strikes
New Data Reveals the 3,623 Seafarers Stuck at Sea | Maritime Executive – 3rd July
As at the end of May 2022, 247 vessels remain abandoned at multiple locations around the world – along with 3,623 seafarers cast adrift, unable to return home – with some of their cases open for more than a decade.
https://www.maritime-executive.com/corporate/new-data-reveals-the-3-623-seafarers-stuck-at-sea
Storms leave 21 people stranded on cargo ship off Sydney | ABC – 4th July
An operation is underway to tow a cargo ship that had been drifting towards rocks amid wild seas near Sydney to deeper waters.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-04/twenty-one-people-stranded-on-cargo-ship-off-sydney/101205490
‘They averted a crisis’: Tugboat crew lauded after cargo ship rescue near Sydney | Sydney Morning Herald – 4th July
The three-person crew of a tugboat saved the state from disaster on Monday after a stricken cargo ship carrying hundreds of tonnes of fuel oil lost its engine in a storm and drifted powerlessly towards the cliffs of the Royal National Park.
COVID-19 restrictions ease onshore but seafarers off Queensland’s coast remain stuck aboard ships | ABC – 4th July
With his ship docked in Townsville, the first port of call for Tarun Grover was to find a local guide to take him scuba diving.
Cargo ship briefly detained in Halifax amid complaints from Ukrainian crew| CBC – 6th July
Crews have refused second contract extension and are asking to return home
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/cargo-ship-detained-halifax-ukrainian-crew-1.6511862?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar
22 Rescued After Abandoning Product Tanker Taking on Water in Arabian Sea | G Captain – 6th July
The crew members had abandoned ship into a liferaft, leaving the Panama-flagged MT Global King adrift and likely sinking with uncontrolled flooding.
https://gcaptain.com/product-tanker-global-king-taking-on-water-in-arabian-sea/
Florida Fishing Boat Captain Rescued After Falling Overboard Without a Lifejacket | G Captain – 6th July
A Florida fishing boat captain was rescued after spending four hours treading water without lifejacket after he fell overboard off the coast of Panama City, Florida on Sunday.
Inland operators continue to face labor issues | Workboat – 7th July
A big concern for inland operators is the high cost of labor and the difficulty filling open positions both on vessels and shoreside. This was on everyone’s mind at the American Waterways Operators spring meeting in May, according to AWO CEO and President Jennifer Carpenter.
https://www.workboat.com/coastal-inland-waterways/inland-operators-continue-to-face-labor-issues
Rebekah Attard | Maritime Assistant
Inspectorate Coordination
International Transport Workers’ Federation
ITF House, 49-60 Borough Road, London, SE1 1DR
Direct Line: 0207 940 9103
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