The problem on board the vessel covered by the collective agreement was taken under control

After the technical labor inspectors of the Kaliningrad regional organization of the Seafarers Union of Russia visited the vessel Kaszuby (IMO 9346847, flag of the Bahamas), the employer promised the crew to solve the problem with a broken air conditioner. The company confirmed that the repair will be carried out in the next port of call, Estonian port Muuga. As it turned out, the seafarers had to put up with the non-working air cooling system since April 2020. That time the ship remained in Brazil for repairing as the engine broke down, then, while on passage, the compressor has failed. However, by the end of June, the problem was not solved and the crew continued to work in high temperatures. In this regard the seafarers applied for assistance upon calling the port of Kaliningrad. It’s worth mentioning that Kaszuby is covered by collective agreement.

«When we came on board, the complaint was confirmed, said the technical inspector of the KRO SUR Petr Dzendzelyuk.  Despite the cool weather, it was very hot and humid inside. In such working conditions any person can become ill, and it is dangerous as well because of the high risk of short circuits and fire. According to the captain, the company is aware of the problem, but the exact time of delivery of spare parts for repair is not reported, and shipowner does not give any written confirmation. After the shipowner was informed that the ship was visited by the ITF representatives, the captain received a letter of guarantee stating that in the next port of call the air conditioner would be fixed.

«So far, we have decided not to send the complaint to the port state control of Estonia. We will wait for the ship to enter the port and for the further actions of the company, - added Lyudmila Izmalkova, technical inspector of labor of the KRO SUR.  However, we reported the problem on board to the Estonian ITF inspector and asked to visit the m/v Kaszuby after fixing the air conditioner.

This is not the only vessel visited by Union representatives in recent days. As well were able to talk to the crewmembers from the m/v Key Breeze (IMO 9344265, flag of Gibraltar), who also work under a collective agreement. Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Filipinos and one seafarer from Myanmar are employed here. As it turned out, the international team has no complaints. 

« The ship came to Kaliningrad from Sweden for soybean oil, said Petr Dzendzelyuk.

In general, everything is fine on board, even there are no problems with the repatriation. The only deficiency found on board is an expired document, so we reported it to the company».