06.03.2023

Notice requiring to conclude a collective agreement with the Greek trade union was sent to the tanker "Stemnitsa" shipowner

The crew asked for this when representatives of the Far Eastern Territorial Organization of the Seafarers’ Union of Russia (FETO SUR) visited the vessel  berthed at Nakhodka under diesel fuel loading destined for Taiwan. There is no International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) collective bargaining agreement on board, and seafarers are prohibited to show their individual contracts and talk about wage amounts. None of the crew knows an insurance compensation amount in case of injury or death.

Note that the owner of the tanker Stemnitsa (IMO 9693070, flag of Malta, 2015 - built) is  Aegina Shipping Ltd., the operator and beneficial owner is Eastern Mediterranean MTME-LIE, both companies are from Athens. The crew consists of 27 people: Filipinos, Greeks, Romanians and Montenegrins. 

During the meeting with the crew we particularly focused on rights of seafarers working on board ships flying flags of convenience,  -   Nikolay Sukhanov said. “Unfortunately, they are violated very often, as registers of flags of convenience do not ensure compliance with minimum social standards, provide for low requirements for safety and training. When there is  insufficient oversight from  the flag state nothing prevents ship owners from establishing their own rules and standards on board. As a result, shipowners  get the opportunity to hire cheap labor and take no care about decent working conditions on board.

In the meantime, the ITF collective bargaining agreement makes it possible to protect the rights of seafarers working on board FOC ships, including  a guarantee of decent salary. So, the salary of AB Seaman working on board the vessel covered by ITF collective agreement would be USD1,830 minimum, and the death insurance amount  would be at least USD110,000.

In order to raise the crew's  awareness about this issue and the activities of the SUR and the ITF, the FETO SUR  representatives gave the crew  books on the rights of seafarers working on board FOC ships and fresh magazines "Maritime Unions Herald", published in Russian and English. In addition, they invited the  crew to visit  Nakhodka International Maritime Club in their spare time, where they can be taken to by a free bus.


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