The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has accused flag states of allowing the exploitation of crew by employers during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a hard-hitting report titled Beyond the Limit, the ITF claimed that flag states' acceptance of lower manning levels during the crew crisis is forcing seafarers to work longer and harder, which is directly impacting on safety.
ITF seafarers and inland navigation section coordinator Fabrizio Barcellona said: “Government restrictions on borders, travel and transit have made it difficult to recruit seafarers and some in the industry are responding by dumping more and more work on the tired and fatigued workforce who remain on ships.”
He said that flag states have responded to the crisis by approving unsafe manning proposals from shipowners.
“Flag states all over the world are now making a mockery of their role as manning level regulator,” he said.
“We have shipowners proposing manning numbers for their ships that are well below what would have been considered safe pre-pandemic and flag states rubber-stamping these proposals through exemptions.”
The result is that owners are saving money on wages but crew are becoming fatigued and overworked, he pointed out.
“Inadequate manning levels spread the same workload across a smaller number of seafarers. The result is overworked, stressed seafarers on board who are not physically or mentally well rested enough to discharge their duties safely,” Barcellona said.
However, flag states sources said they are acting out of necessity because of the exceptional circumstances caused by the pandemic. One flag state executive pointed out that exemptions are always temporary, and maritime administrations will not approve manning arrangements that they believe to be unsafe.
The ITF expressed additional concerns over the use of remote surveys by classification societies and flag states during the pandemic.
It pointed out that the use of remote surveys means that crew are being unfairly asked to assess their own safety.
Odd Rune Malterud, maritime safety committee head at the ITF, said crew members are under pressure to assess their own working conditions as safe while, at the same time, remote surveys are adding to their workload.
He said it is “unacceptable” that country’s like Norway are approving remote safety surveys.
He described crew as under “enormous pressure to appease their employers”.
“Most employers will expect crew to pick up these remote inspection tasks on top of their already overburdened workload, often when a seafarer is supposed to be keeping watch for everyone’s safety,” Malterud said.
He urged flag states and port states to consider their responsibilities and for unions to push for enforcement of the current regulations.
ITF general secretary Steve Cotton had earlier warned that the crew crisis will lead to a major ship casualty.
