ITF Seafarers’ Trust rendered financial assistance to Russian seafarer

ITF Seafarers’ Trust provided £ 7,000 to a member of the Seafarers’ Union of Russia.  The seafarer needed money to pay a surgery bill.

According Pyotr Osichansky, Chairman of the SUR Primary organization of Vladivostok,  a seafarer who had lost his left eye due to an injury on board a ship came to the Trade union committee at the beginning of 2021. 

- He couldn’t work for health reasons and was dependent on his retired parents, - explained Mr. Osichansky. - The former employer refused to pay him sick leave and compensation for injury, the company only agreed to defray part of his medical treatment expenses. They justified the refusal by the fact that the company is registered in Panama, though it has the representative office  in Vladivostok.

The Union offered the seafarer to complete the treatment, obtain a medical report  and prepare an appeal to the ITF Seafarers' Trust – the seafarer was faced with a complicated  and expensive surgery.

“The ITF Seafarers' Trust approved allocation of financial assistance to a Russian seafarer as early as February,” said Pyotr Osichansky. - Despite the fact that its maximum size is £5,000  the amount for a sailor was increased to £7,000, or about 718,000 rubles at today’s  rate of exchange. In March, he received all the funds.

Note that this is not the first time when the ITF Seafarers' Trust helps Russian seafarers – SUR members. 

So, in October 2020, the organization allocated £5138  to a former employee of the Vladivostok fishing company, who also became disabled.

It remains to be said that ITF Seafarers' Trust dates back to 1981. Its mission is to support the "moral, spiritual and physical well-being of seafarers regardless of nationality, race or religion." The Fund implements various assistance programs, and one of them is for those who find themselves in a difficult situation due to the pandemic. Within its framework, the minimum grant is £ 250, and the maximum one is £5,000.

Since its ащгтафешщт, the ITF Seafarers' Trust  has provided approximately $ 200 million to support the wellbeing of seafarers around the world.