Chinese crew members on a Blue Planet Shipping bulker were denied repatriation in November, according tothe International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), in what the union has called a case of "forced labour".
ITF and International Maritime Organization officials have said the case of the 82,100-dwt Archon (built 2018) is one of "abandonment", in the specific sense that pertains to seafarers' rights.
But the Marshall Islands flag state has maintained that it is not abandonment, but a case that should be handled through the IMO's Seafarer Crisis Action Team (Scat) for acute Covid-19 issues.
Officials of Blue Planet Shipping did not respond to TradeWinds' original requests for comment but have subsequently denied any claim of abandonment (see story below)."
According to the seafarer abandonment database maintained by the IMO and the International Labour Organization (ILO), the ship’s 21 crew members were working on eight-month contracts dating from December 2020 and February 2021. These had expired in November when nine seafarers demanded repatriation during a Barcelona port call, where ITF officials say immigration officials cleared the request.
The ship was waiting and discharging cargo at the port between 24 October and 5 November, according to AIS records.
But instead of repatriating the crew members, flag state and port state officials agreed to a "rectification action plan" without consulting the seafarers, according to entries in the IMO-ILO complaint docket.
The ship sailed to the next load port — Yuzhny in Ukraine — but departed there on 1 December without repatriations, making for the Chinese port of Beihai in the Guangzhou region, where a crew exchange was planned.
Marshall Islands officials claimed that the Archon “is not an abandonment case but [one] of the inability of the shipowner to repatriate the crew” — a view they said is supported by the harbour master in Barcelona.
"Under the repatriation plan deadline given by PSC Barcelona, the seafarers should have been repatriated by 11 December," flag state officials said as recorded in the IMO-ILO docket.
"However, the shipowner had encountered delays at anchorage at Yuzhny due to port congestion."
But ITF officials denied that Covid-19 restrictions and port congestion justified forcing the crew members to work against their will from Barcelona to Guangzhou.
"Though Covid-19 restrictions made repatriation difficult, not enough was done to guarantee their rights," ITF officials protested in the IMO-ILO record.
"It is our firm belief that their fundamental rights have been violated and Maritime Labour Convention [MLC] standards have not been [upheld] in the protection of these."
"This, under our impression, is a case of forced labour as there is no valid agreement entered into freely by the seafarers for their continuation on board."
The union blamed a lack of understanding of shipowner and flag responsibilities under the MLC, and a "lack of willingness" by port state officials in Spain — and the fact that the complaint was received on a Friday.
"Apparently, the seafarers' rights are abolished over the weekends," wrote wrote ITF coordinator for Spain Luz Baz.
Baz added that the Chinese crew reported being exhausted and unable to work in a safe manner.
"I may say that implementing the MLC in this way means that human seafarers' rights still mean nothing for some in this industry," she wrote.
