Singapore has denied allegations that it may have contravened the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) in a recent crew abandonment case.
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) made the allegation about the city-state’s handling of a case involving the crew of the Liberian-flagged, 11,670-gt livestock carrier Yangtze Harmony (built 2004).
The vessel was arrested in the city-state by Singapore’s sheriff’s office on 25 October 2022 over an unpaid bill for towing the vessel from Brisbane, Australia, to Singapore.
The ITF claimed that the 13-man crew of the Yangtze Harmony spent five months in Singapore, while the crew of a sister ship arrested in Australia returned home “in a matter of weeks”.
“The two crew’s experiences of abandonment came down to support for, promotion of, and adherence to crew members’ labour and human rights by the parties with obligations,” the ITF said.
But the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said the Liberian flag state “fulfilled its role and obligations” for the vessel under standard A.2.5.1 — repatriation of the MLC by making arrangements to repatriate seafarers who are entitled to repatriation, should the shipowner fail to make such arrangements or meet the cost of repatriation.
The MPA said that, therefore, there was “no requirement by Singapore as port state to assume the obligations to repatriate the crew”.
“The MPA kept in close contact throughout this period with Liberia…to monitor and facilitate the repatriation plan and ensured that the seafarers’ well-being was taken care of while they were on board the vessel,” it said.
The maritime regulator said there were no restrictions by the sheriff’s office on the repatriation and the granting of shore leave for all the 13 seafarers on board.
During this period, three seafarers were granted leave to seek medical attention on shore on 16 December 2022, while three seafarers were repatriated in January 2023, the MPA said.
On 27 February 2023, the sheriff’s office obtained from the Liberian Ship Registry’s dispensation for the minimum manning of the vessel to be reduced from 13 to nine crew members, which would allow four more seafarers to be repatriated.
However, MPA said it understood that the master and all remaining crew decided to stay on board the vessel until the settlement of the outstanding wages owed to them.
“In April 2023, all 13 seafarers who remained on board had received their outstanding wages for the period from November 2022 to April 2023,” the MPA said.
“The outstanding wages were paid by Yangtze Harmony’s protection and indemnity club under the financial security insurance in place in respect of the vessel and the arresting party.
“The remaining outstanding wages in excess of that which the vessel’s P&I club is legally required to cover were paid by the arresting party and will be recovered by the arresting party from the proceeds of the judicial sale of the vessel. All thirteen seafarers have since been repatriated,” the MPA said.
“As the port state, Singapore worked closely with the flag state and the ship agents to ensure that the seafarers were repatriated and were given the necessary support,” the MPA added.
