THE ancient code of the sea to help those in distress is being challenged by legal risk of jail for masters for not doing so versus taking on board scores of diseased refugees with fears of Ebola spreading in the world, reports New York's Maritime Advocate.
Seafarers' Rights International (SRI) has raised concerns about governments not doing enough to shoulder their obligations citing operations in Italian waters as a recent example.
SRI said there are serious implications for masters in the recent report of the launch of the new EU-funded Frontex operation "Triton".
The Italian combination police and customs operation, fulfilling the state obligation to provide rescue services has had its budget cut, thereby obliging merchant ships to pick up the slack, says SRI.
The UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said than 600 merchant ships were diverted from their routes to rescue people at sea. "These deviations are detrimental to shipping and are not offset by any realistic prospects of salvage awards," said an IMO official.
Said SRI executive director Deirdre Fitzpatrick: "This is a serious obligation. The master who fails to render assistance could face a jail sentence. But a master must be equally aware of his duty to protect the lives of his own crew, and not to expose them to risks such as Ebola."
But the obligation of masters to render assistance to those at risk of being lost at sea can be seen alongside the obligation of governments to ensure that assistance be provided for those in distress at sea, writes the Maritime Advocate.
Under the 1979 International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue governments must "ensure that necessary arrangements are made for the provision of adequate search and rescue services for persons in distress at sea around their coast."
Any reduction in search and rescue by governments may increase the number of incidents to which merchant ships must respond, with consequent burdens and legal responsibilities on masters and crews.
"The obligation of masters to assist persons in distress at sea is steeped in maritime tradition and legal," said sea lawyer Brian Orrell, chairman of the SRI advisory board.
"It is therefore of concern if budgets for search and rescue in the Mediterranean are being reduced. This may increase the number of search and rescue missions that masters have to undertake, as well as their risks of criminal prosecution for any perceived failure to attend to persons endangered at sea," he said.
WORLD SHIPPING
02 December 2014 - 22:53
Old code of rescue at sea challenged by exigencies of modern maritime life
THE ancient code of the sea to help those in distress is being challenged by legal risk of jail for masters for not doing so versus taking on board scores of diseased refugees with fears of Ebola spreading in the world, reports New York's Maritime Advocate.
WORLD SHIPPING
02 December 2014 - 22:53
Old code of rescue at sea challenged by exigencies of modern maritime life
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