All quiet in the Baltic

Technical Labor Inspection of the Baltic Territorial Organization of the Seafarers' Union of Russia (SUR BTO) has summarized its work undertaken for the last 12 months. According to Labor Inspector  Alexander Rusetskiy, 2017  has been a favorable year:  there were no any claims concerning accidents at work sent to the SUR BTO Office. The SUR BTO representatives visited  a total of 29 vessel, six of which - under Russian flag. 

-Most violations of work safety rules and labor legislation were related to the  supplying  crew with work clothing, personal protective equipment and necessary tools for work. Also, our Inspectors revealed a number of shortcomings concerning  living conditions on board: absence of personal-care products,  poor condition of crew's cabins, lack of equipment for washing and cleaning and so on.  Of course, all these problems were resolved in the shortest possible time, - says Alexander Rusetskiy.

The only "dark spot" was the case of the chief engineer  of the M/V "Musa Jalil" - the shipowner was able to persuade the credulous seaman to buy the spare parts for the vessel at his own expense. Of course, the company's representatives promised to compensate all costs, but  they did not record their obligations in writing, and the seafarer did not pay attention to that fact either. As a result, when the time came to return the money spent, the company shrugged off the requirements of the seafarer.  And due to the fact that the agreement was verbal and there were no evidence that the purchased spare parts were used to repair the vessel, the chief engineer could not get the money back.

-We repeat tirelessly that all the shipowner's monetary obligations must be recorded in writing. This refers   both to the wage rate and  purchases for the repair / supply of the vessel, made by seafarers' own expense. Only with this condition a crew member will be able to obtain compensation for expenses or payment of the full salary debt, - the SUR noted.