Seafarer from the m/v the Bourbon thanked the SUR for their support

The office of the Far Eastern territorial organization of the Seafarers Union of Russia was visited by the second mate, member of the SUR, Ruslan Yakutovich from the problematic ship Bourbon. The seafarer expressed his gratitude to the union for helping the crew, who were left in Manila for a long time in difficult conditions and with salary arrears. According to him, at present all the crewmembers were repatriated with the salary paid in full.

«The crewmember particularly noted that, being on a foreign ship away from Russia, the crew had the opportunity to be in touch with the SUR, thanks to which they felt supported all the time on board. In addition, the situation was widely highlighted in mass media, so the seafarers did not feel forgotten»,- said the chairman of the FETO SUR Nikolay Sukhanov.

Note that the bulk carrier Bourbon (IMO 9588407, flag of Liberia) has previously attracted the attention of the union several times. So, back in February of last year, the inspectors of the FETO SUR visited the ship in the port of Vostochny and saw a disappointing picture: unpaid salaries and scarce supplies of fresh water. Besides, the insurance certificates on the financial guarantees of the shipowner have been expired. Almost the next day after inspection of the PSC, the problems were solved, but the misadventures did not end there. In July last year, the PSC of Nakhodka detained the vessel upon the request of the crew.

The shipowner, the Greek company Clover Marine Investment Inc., owed the crewmembers, consisting of Ukrainians, 116 thousand US dollars and they had no valid contracts. In addition, 4 crewmembers needed medical assistance and asked for repatriation. For more than a month, the ship remained in port, but thanks to the active participation of the Vladivostok’s primary trade union organization the crew received the outstanding wage, which by that time had increased to 176 thousand US dollars, and was repatriated.

After that, on August 3, the ship arrived to the Philippines with a new Russian-Ukrainian crew of 15 people. The seafarers almost immediately encountered problems: the ship was in a state of disrepair, and on the way to Manila, the crew had to pump out water to avoid going to the bottom. On August 16, the vessel miraculously arrived at the port, but here the problems with the supply were added to the troubles of the team. The ship was de-energized, the food began to deteriorate, the water came to an end and the salary arrears began to grow. After the appeal of the ITF inspector from Novorossiysk to the local representative of the ITF in Philippine, the state port control was contacted, the ship was detained, but this did not help the crew much. Following the MLC requiremens the Swedish Club intervened and partially took over the duties of the employer- provisions was purchased and the water in amount 60 tons of fresh water was delivered. Besides, the medical care for the crewmembers was arranged. However, the main demand of the seafarers – to pay off the salary arrears and repatriation was not met by anyone.

At the end of November last year, several crewmembers were finally repatriated, largely thanks to the help of an ITF inspector in Manila. After receiving a salary payment from an employer of more than $ 20,000 four Russians and two Ukrainians left the vessel. Others, however, including the captain, the Ch. Mate, the second mate and the 2nd Eng, remained on board. Only at the end of February 2021, they went home, having received salary debts. «Now there is a Filipino crew on board. The second mate also said that thanks to the competent actions of the captain, the crew had a sufficient amount of water and food which was carried out by the insurance company, while waiting for the repatriation,»- said Nikolai Sukhanov.

It should be noted that according to Equasis, the ship has now changed its name to Baroness, and its ship owner is the Greek company SR Navigation SA.