The Prosecutor's office revealed violations in the employment of seafarers on the m/v Pawell

The Volga-Don transport Prosecutor's office in result of investigation found out that Rostshipservice LTD provided services for the employment of seafarers on the ship Pawell (flag of Syria, IMO 8315499) without a license for such activity. As it was reported on the Agency's website the submission was made to the head of the company and the cases of administrative offenses under part 1 of article 18.13 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation (carrying out activities for the employment of citizens of the Russian Federation abroad without a license) have been opened.

The Prosecutor's office became concerned in Rostshipservice LTD performance after former crewmembers of the Pawell crew filed a complaint due to outstanding salary arrears. Recall that the Port State Control of Yeysk detained Pawell on September 21 due to the numerous deficiencies, including non-payment of wages to the crew and the lack of the contracts of employment as per the established form.

As reported by the ITF inspector in Novorossiysk Olga Ananina, after 34 days the ship could leave port after the payment of money to the seafarers for about $ 1.8 million was arranged .

So the captain and boatswain received a full payment and were signed off in September, but three seafarers, who left the ship in mid-October, did not see payment for half a month. The company refused them, referring to the order of the General Director of Rostshipservice LTD to «reduce the monetary allowance of crew members by 50%» for the time of decommissioning of the ship. It is noteworthy that the document appeared on board only in October, but was dated September 21, e.g. the day of  Pawell's detention in Yeysk. In this regard the crewmembers appealed to the Volga-Don transport Prosecutor's office. The Agency was interested in the form of remuneration for seafarers as the crew received a salary in Russian rubles while worked on board the vessel under the Syrian flag. Besides there was no information about the employment license on the Rostshipservice LTD website but the company used to employ the Russia citizens for the foreign flag’s vessels After checking compliance with the requirements of labor and licensing legislation it was found out that that Rostshipservice LTD does not have a license.

The Seafarers Union of Russia notes that sometimes seafarers do not attach much importance to the terms of employment and unconditionally trust the employer's promises that are not fixed in writing. This can lead to sad consequences. To avoid unpleasant situations you need to follow simple rules – make sure that the company has a license to employ Russians abroad and carefully study the contract before signing. «However, the best guarantee of successful employment is working on a ship covered by the collective agreement approved by the ITF», – the SUR is sure.