ITF to begin its crackdown on illegal ships from today

MUMBAI, November 15: The Mumbai port is set to witness high drama from Monday, with the International Transport Workers' Federation ITF po...

MUMBAI, November 15: The Mumbai port is set to witness high drama from Monday, with the International Transport Workers8217; Federation ITF poised to crack down on ships which skirt regulations by obtaining a Flag of Convenience FoC abroad.

Volunteers of the federation, which will launch an intensive, week-long campaign against ship-owners who operate with an FoC, will board ships with these dubious credentials and impound them at the port. The ITF has already mobilised volunteers and are in possession of a list of such ships likely to touch the Mumbai port obtained from its branch in Japan.

Last year, in Mumbai alone, 12 ships were impounded and seven were later released after the requisite formalities were carried out. ITF-approved agreements were signed for 85 ships country-wide and more than US 10,00,000 were recovered as back wages from the defaulting shipowners.

The operation, part of a country-wide campaign, was chalked out at the 39th congress of the London-based federation convened by PrimeMinister Atal Behari Vajpayee and which concluded on November 5 in New Delhi. The campaign is being launched to improve working conditions of the world8217;s seafarers and to safeguard the jobs of of waterfront workers employed in various docks in the country.

The ITF, which represents more than 46 lakh transport workers from 533 trade unions in 128 countries from various sectors including dockers and seafarers will deploy its representatives on board ships docked at ports all over the country.

Dr Leo Barnes, general secretary of the National Union of Seafarers of India, the ITF8217;s Indian representative, says vessels which are found unseaworthy will be impounded, sanitary and working conditions inspected and documents screened. The vessels will not be allowed to sail out of the harbour if they do not comply with the ITF regulations, Barnes added.

8220;The effort is to eliminate FoCs and sub-standard ships which ply world over and particularly in the territorial water of the country. Indian waters will not besafe haven for unscrupulous shipowners,8221;remarked Dr Barnes.

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8220;Owners and operators of ships flying flags of tax havens like Aruba, the Bahamas, Cyprus, St Vincent and Vanuata should ensure genuine compliance with international standards or find themselves receiving special attention on entering the Mumbai port,8221; remarks ITF Inspector Maruti Rethrekar.

According to ITF Inspector, Abdulgani Serang, more than 100 FoC vessels are likely to keep away from Indian ports during the Action Week. The ports which will be under scrutiny are: Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Kandla, Chennai, Tuticorin, Calcutta, Vishakhapatnam, Goa and Kochi. Last year, more than 500 ships were inspected by 60 ITF-affiliated seafarers8217; and dockers8217; unions. Ship-owners who obtain FoCs from countries like Panama, Antigua, Liberia, and Belize do so to avoid adherence to stringent regulations, to save on taxesand labour charges and to cut costs on taxation. It also helps avoid inspection of their vessels by the country of origin andinevitably results in recruitment of untrained, unqualified crew. Also, the crew are usually underpaid and at times not paid at all. If the ITF fails to clear the FoC, ship-owners stand to lose insurance claim, compensation and other monetary benefits.

Vessels flagged under FoC ownership do not fly the flags of the country of origin. Instead, they assume the nationality of the country from where the FoC is obtained.