Protest rally announced on board of m / v Magellan

The Ch. Engineer and the 2nd Engineer from the vessel Magellan (flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines IMO 9087104) announced a protest in connection with non-payment of wages within more than 6 months. The seafarers refuse to let representatives of repair team sent by the shipowners to the engine room. The information was presented by the chairman of the Azov-Don Territorial Organization of the Seafarers Union of Russia (SUR) Leonid Glushak. Two seafarers who are members’of the SUR have not received a salary since February and for the moment the debt to them comes to about 25 thousand dollars.

«The seafarers are so desperate that they are ready to go to length of a hunger strike», said the chairman of the ADTO SUR.

Note that the ship “Magellan” was arrested by Rostov customs on the basis of a protocol on the arrest of goods and since June 2018 she remains at the outer anchorage of the port of Azov. The remaining 6 crewmembers arrived on board later and have not received a salary since April. After receiving complaints from the Ch. Engineer and 2nd Engineer ADTO SUR several times contacted the ship’s operator REKAFLOT whose representatives repeatedly promised to pay off in the near future debt however they have not fulfilled their obligations. According to the ITF Inspector Olga Ananina communication with the shipowner WB Navigation SA also did not lead to anything as the company complains that they incurred huge expenses in connection with the arrest of the ship ( about $ 1 million) and reject any allegations of slave labor and abandonment of seafarers.

«WB Navigation S.A. reported that the ship was arrested due to the mistakes of the bareboat charter and there is no fault of the company in it» she says. «Maybe this is so but why should sailors suffer because of shipowner's problems? In fact people are forced to work without wage, they are not allowed to leave the ship so what if not modern slavery? Unfortunately the flag state does not take absolutely any actions to follow the case.

The situation is complicated by the fact that during the period of detention on board the vessel the validity of insurance certificates has expired and now it is impossible to repatriate sailors at the expense of the insurance company and pay them a salary for four months.

«We are going to involve the marine administration of the port and the prosecutor’s office in solving this problem, said Leonid Glushak. Seafarers should not be hostages of such situations».

Olga Ananina said that the ship has been entered in the list of abandoned vessels upon the form of the ILO.