Incidents involving unfair treatment of seafarers continue to happen worldwide, and BIMCO has said that it is maintaining its focus on this area to try and improve the situation both for seafarers and the shipping industry in general.

BIMCO is an independent international shipping association with a membership composed of ship owners, managers, brokers, agents and many other stakeholders.

A series of three articles mark the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) “Year of the Seafarer” by focusing on general trends, implications for seafarers, and the international legislative perspective and future outlook

The year 2010 has been designated as the “Year of the Seafarer” to give the IMO and the international maritime community at large the opportunity to pay tribute to the world’s seafarers for their unique contribution to society and in recognition of the risks they shoulder in the execution of their duties in an often hostile environment. BIMCO said that it attributes much importance to the human element of shipping and considers that IMO’s decision will further support global measures aimed at safeguarding seafarers and recognise their work.

The fact, however, that a number of maritime incidents in recent years continue to show examples of unfair treatment of seafarers underlines the importance of maintaining this issue high on the agenda, said a BIMCO statement.

Beyond the ‘Hebei Spirit’

Most people involved in shipping will remember the ‘Hebei Spirit’ incident in South Korea in December 2007. The legal aftermath of this incident only ended in June last year, when the Master and Chief Officer of the vessel were finally released from custody - nearly 18 months after it all started with a barge ramming the vessel and causing South Korea’s largest oil spill ever.

Leaving aside the obvious disastrous consequences of the oil spill itself, the case was a severe example of how badly things can turn out and how unfairly seafarers can be treated.

Nevertheless, the seafarers had to stay in prison for months, face charges and fines, and endured difficulties in obtaining employment and visas in order to enter foreign countries.

Unfortunately, BIMCO said that the likelihood of this being a one-off case seems remote, as several cases prior to and after the ‘Hebei Spirit’ demonstrate similar unfortunate characteristics.

In the ‘Tosa’ case, three members of the crew have been held in Taiwan, China, since April 2009 after being arrested on suspicion of failing to come to the aid of a fishing vessel that capsized after an alleged close-quarters incident with the ‘Tosa’, resulting in the death of two crew members on the fishing vessel.

Only after holding them for close to three months without charge did prosecutors move to indict the Master, Second Officer and another crew member in July 2009. The second officer was charged with desertion in the light of alleged evidence that he failed to stop the vessel and assist crew on the fishing vessel and the Master on the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Although the Master was sleeping at the time of the incident, he was accused of failure in his duty of care because he did not provide adequate instructions to the crew when navigating an area of sea known to be the favoured site of many fishing vessels. At the time of writing, almost ten months after the incident, the case is no longer receiving much media attention.

A continuous effort

Cases such as those referred to above and the professional, as well as personal, implications for the seafarers involved are the main reason for BIMCO’s commitment to defending the right of vessels’ crews to fair treatment, regardless of the question of fault, as all seafarers have a basic entitlement to be treated fairly and objectively.

A study carried out by BIMCO in 2009 shows that there are a number of cases where seafarers have been subject to unfair treatment in one way or another. The study focuses on cases where seafarers have been subject to sanctions before or after any deliberate act or negligence has been admitted in court and there are numerous examples of both, the first category obviously posing the largest problems of principle for the protection of seafarers’ rights.

BIMCO will update its study on fair treatment of seafarers in 2010 and present the results to the IMO’s Legal Committee with a view to putting focus on the continued problematic nature of the issue and call for support in improving conditions for seafarers in line also with the IMO’s overall agenda for 2010.

In addition, this year’s envisaged update of the Manpower Study to be conducted in co-operation with the International Shipping Federation should assist in these endeavours.

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