Seafarers who arrived at the port of Kaliningrad received gifts on the occasion of the holiday

The Kaliningrad regional organization of the Seafarers Union of Russia (KRO SUR) does not sit idle either on weekdays or on holidays. On Seafarers Day Union inspectors visited the m/v ARA ANTWERPEN (IMO 9240550, flag of Gibraltar, built in 2014) so that the crewmembers, who are not allowed to go ashore, were not left without congratulations and gifts.

The crew, consisted of six Ukrainians, four Filipinos and one Romanian, greeted the inspectors cordially and was in a good mood. In the previous port of call, Amsterdam, from where the vessel arrived to Kaliningrad with a cargo of rubble, a change was made to that part of the crew who stayed on board for an extra two and a half months. They safely were repatriated via Minsk. The vessel, owned by the Dutch company ARA Shipmanagement B. V., is in good technical condition, and covered by the collective agreement of Nautilus International. In general, the visit left a positive impression on both the seafarers and the inspectors. The same cannot be said about the previous vessel, which was visited by representatives of the KRO, the m/v SHEKSNA (IMO 8876572, flag of Cameroon, built in 1994). They were met on board by a crew of five Russians and six Ukrainians.

– The ship was moored at the Fishing port for painting. She was completely covered with rust, and in general is in very poor condition, said the technical labor inspector of the KRO SUR Petr Dzendzelyuk.  The seafarers were a bit confused by meet us. The Chief Officer, who is in his sixties, said it was the first time he had heard of the International transport workers Federation. The captain, who passed us several times, completely ignored our presence on board, which lasted at least 20 minutes. We still managed to have a little chat with the Ch. Officer, who, although  also did not really want to enter into a dialogue with us, felt uncomfortable about the situation and still answered our questions.

However, the conversation did not clarify everything as it turned out that the seafarer does not even know who the ship owner is. According to Equasis, this is the St. Petersburg company OPENBRIDGE SHIPPING LLC. The vessel is not covered by the collective agreement, which is reflected in the salary.  The Chief Officer himself receives 2100 Euros per month, which is about half the rate of the ITF wage scale.

– During the stay on board the captain did not come to see us, – said the Petr Dzendzelyuk. – However, according to the Ch. Officer, the crew has recently changed and there are no problems with wages and supplies.