ITF News Update: 04th to 10th June 2021
Successful crew change comes from years of hard graft | Lloyd’s List – 4th June
Transferring seafarers from their ship to the airport in Europe requires regular communication with immigration authorities and never giving up, says Boers Crew Services director Hans Boers
No one is listening to calls for seafarers to be seen as key workers, Hans Boers believes. The best way to get seafarers back home is to dig into many years of crew-change experience
Port states raise concerns about crew change breaches | Lloyd’s List – 4th June
Secretary-general Luc Smulders said the increase raised safety concerns. European shipowners have called for more seafarer vaccinations and exemptions from travel curbs
The Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control said the share of deficiencies over seafarer employment agreements rose 58% from 2019 to 2020, in a year when inspections plunged because of the coronavirus pandemic
Ukrainian Captain Held in Sri Lanka for Six Years Without a Charge | Maritime Executive – 4th June
Captain Gennadiy Gavrylov, the former master of the floating armory Avant Garde, has returned home after six years of detention in Sri Lanka, according to the Marine Transport Workers’ Trade Union of Ukraine (MTWTU).
‘Tip of the iceberg’: ITF inspectors recover $45m in seafarers’ wages amidst record-high abandonments | ITF Seafarers – 7th June
New figures released by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) show that $44,613,880 USD of owed wages were recovered for seafarers by the ITF’s network of inspectors across the world last year.
Evergreen vessel returns to Italy to repatriate master’s body | Lloyd’s List – 7th June
Vessel cancels sailing after being denied entry to ports in Asia following death on board
The master of Ital Libera died with a suspected coronavirus infection in April. Since then, no port in Asia has been willing to accept his body for return to Italy
Ship Abandonments Hit Record in 2020 -ITF | G Captain – 7th June
The International Transport Workers’ Federation said today it helped seafarers recover nearly $45 million in owed wages last year while cases of ship abandonments nearly doubled to a record high.
https://gcaptain.com/ship-abandonments-hit-record-in-2020-itf/
Seafarers Worldwide Marooned by Perfect Storm of COVID-19 Restrictions | Epoch Times – 7th June
In the wake of the pandemic, over 200,000 seafarers worldwide remain trapped on ships or are waiting for work. Many have been barred from entering ports due to virus restrictions, causing major disruption to international shipping lanes and the wellbeing of sea workers.
AMOSUP opens facilities for seafarer vaccination | Manila Times – 9th June
The vaccination program for Filipino seafarers will start rolling out this month with the Association of Marine Officers’ and Seamen’s Union of the Philippines (AMOSUP) opening its facilities nationwide as the venue of inoculation.
Crewing crisis is ‘manageable but not sustainable’ | Lloyd’s List – 10th June
The number of seafarers unable to get home from their ships is well down on a year ago. Nevertheless, the crisis has revealed weaknesses in supply, travel, welfare and corporate culture
V.Group says the broad spread of crew-source countries has been beneficial. However, new fuels and technologies will place increasing pressure on training and skills