GUIDELINES on how to deal with seafarer abandonment have been adopted by a joint International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) working group, reports Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide.
Guidelines seek to address the rise in cases of abandonment of crews reported to the ILO, up from 20 cases a year from 2011 to 2016, to 40 in 2019, 85 in 2020, 95 in 2021 and 114 cases in 2022 said the report from the ILO.
'The guidelines aim to improve coordination among countries, including flag states, port states, states in which seafarers are national or resident, and states in which recruitment and placement services operate, in order to resolve abandonment cases more quickly, including getting seafarers paid and repatriated,' said the report.
'The new guidelines draw on relevant ILO international labour standards, notably the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 including its most recent amendments,' said the report.
'Under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, flag states, countries where ships are registered and/or whose flag the ships are flying, must ensure a financial security system is in place for ships under those flags. The new guidelines encourage flag states to verify, at least annually, the validity of this financial security,' said the ILO report.
'Port states are encouraged to pay particular attention to this financial security during their inspections of foreign ships that visit their ports. States where recruitment and placement services operate are also called upon to regularly verify that those services include a system to ensure the protection of the seafarers they recruit and place.'
SeaNews Turkey
Guidelines seek to address the rise in cases of abandonment of crews reported to the ILO, up from 20 cases a year from 2011 to 2016, to 40 in 2019, 85 in 2020, 95 in 2021 and 114 cases in 2022 said the report from the ILO.
'The guidelines aim to improve coordination among countries, including flag states, port states, states in which seafarers are national or resident, and states in which recruitment and placement services operate, in order to resolve abandonment cases more quickly, including getting seafarers paid and repatriated,' said the report.
'The new guidelines draw on relevant ILO international labour standards, notably the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 including its most recent amendments,' said the report.
'Under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, flag states, countries where ships are registered and/or whose flag the ships are flying, must ensure a financial security system is in place for ships under those flags. The new guidelines encourage flag states to verify, at least annually, the validity of this financial security,' said the ILO report.
'Port states are encouraged to pay particular attention to this financial security during their inspections of foreign ships that visit their ports. States where recruitment and placement services operate are also called upon to regularly verify that those services include a system to ensure the protection of the seafarers they recruit and place.'
SeaNews Turkey