29.03.2021

There are a lot of violations on board of m/v Hansung

During the inspection of the m/v Hansung (flag of Togo, IMO 8513390), representatives of the Far Eastern Territorial Organization of the Seafarers Union of Russia found that the ship's insurance certificates issued under the Maritime Labour Convention were expired. For the crew of 15 Russians it means that the employer's responsibility to the seafarers is not insured so that in case of problems, the four-month arrears and repatriation will be not covered. It was not only this violation that attracted the attention of the union.

According to Nikolay Sukhanov, the chairman of the FETO SUR, the basic rate of AB is about $600 US dollars, which does not reach the minimum required by the International Labor Organization from January, 1 ($641). The captain's salary as well is also not big and comes up to $2354.

«In addition to this, other things draw our attention. For example, the contracts of employment are signed by the head of the Hong Kong’s company Azelia Ocean Limited, while his signature is difficult to make out. Again, in case of any problems with salary and discharging, it will be difficult to obtain the outstanding wage on the territory of Russia. In addition, the signatures in the seafarer’s contracts and the shipowner's signature in the Declaration Part II of the MLC are different. In fact, the employment contracts do not meet the requirements of the MLC. The vessel is not covered by the collective agreement. We managed to find out that the crewmembers were hired on board through an agency in Vladivostok named Forvater Kruing. We also found out that earlier the ship was called Iman and belonged to the shipping company Inderton, which is well – known to the SUR because of the systematic delays in wages for seafarers,» - N. Sukhanov explained.

As a result of the visit to Hansung, representatives of the FETO SUR informed the captain about the need to obtain new insurance certificates in accordance with the MLC before leaving Nakhodka and to bring the seafarers employment contracts into proper form. Otherwise, the ship may be detained after completion of the loading operations. Authorities have also been informed about the situation with the documents on board.

«Unfortunately, it turned out that the seafarers themselves do not even know how much they are insured. Therefore, we talked about the collective agreement, which can guarantee protection of the seafarers rights, and about the procedure for joining the SUR»,- said Nikolay Sukhanov In addition, representatives of the FETO SUR answered questions about the level of wages on ships under flags of convenience, as well as about the situation in the city due to the pandemic and about precautionary measures.


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