The seafarer will not receive the wage

Contracts of the seafarers from the m/v Orange Dream (flag  Sierra Lyon, IMO 9176187, deadweight 11042 t, year of construction  1998) were signed by a third party as per information from the representatives of the Far East Union organization of the SUR who visited  the vessel in the port of Nakhodka. The vessel was under the loading of scrap metal bound to the Korean port of Pohang. The owner, Crystal Ocean Ltd, is located in Hong Kong, the operator - in Vladivostok, the crew consist of  19 Russian citizens from the Primorsky Territory  was manned  through the agency Orange Marine Ltd in Vladivostok. According to Nikolay  Sukhanov, Chairman of the Far Eastern Union organization of the SUR,  during the inspection the SUR representatives was provided with all documents including  Part II Declaration signed on behalf of the owner, Crystal Ocean Limited, but the  contracts of employment were signed not by the employer but someone on behalf of the employer. And the contact details were not indicated in the contracts.

«This means that in the case of, say, a delay of the payment of wages, the shipowner will need to be rescued in Hong Kong. Upon filing the application the court will order the owner from Hong Kong to pay the debt. As a result, as we have already seen, the seafarer will not receive wage», - says Nikolay Sukhanov.

Union inspectors told the crewmembers about the possible consequences and recommended not to sign off from the vessel in case of delay of wage until it is paid. Also seafarers may complain to the harbour master and the ship will be detained. Then the beneficial shipowner will quickly be found inside our country.

 «We told the crewmembers that working on board the vessels under a flag of convenience without an ITF collective agreement is fraught with serious consequences. The base rate of a AB of $ 430 instead of $ 618 (according to the recommendations of the MLC) is the best evidence of this. The captain's salary is $ 3,500. The seafarers reported that they did not have enough work wear and warm clothes although winter was near. Insurance certificates of the financial guarantee of the shipowner according to the requirements of the MLC are available on board the Orange Dream».

According to the submitted documents the seafarers are insured for $ 75 thousand in the event of death, but in order to get the insurance amount we should know the name and address of the beneficial shipowner. The contracts of the crew from inspected vessel are signed by an unknown employer, they have a facsimile stamp and illegible signature without a surname, address and phone. All this does not give seafarers the right to receive the money earned and the promised insurance amounts in Russia.

«We explained to the crewmembers that only the ITF’s collective agreement signed with the beneficial shipowner guarantees them the protection of their legitimate rights and interests. We cited examples of the deception of seafarers working upon such contracts as theirs and told about the crewmembers working for such companies as ARDIS from Vladivostok, KORABLESTROITEL and Trans Line from Nakhodka. There was also no original seal and information about the real shipowner in their contracts of employment».

DVRO SUR decided to send a notice to the ship operator in Vladivostok with request to conclude a collective agreement