The m/v Alexander 1 will be reflagged

Labor inspectors of the Far Eastern territorial organization of the Seafarers Union of Russia visited the ship Alexander1 (flag of Togo, IMO 8720979) at the berth of the Nakhodka sea fishing port under unloading cargo from the Chinese port of Qingdao. They were met on board by a crew consisting of 16 Russians. The CH. mate, a member of the FETO SUR, said that the Nakhodka’s company VIS decided to reflag the m/v Alexander – from Togo to the Russian Federation.

«In our opinion, changing the flag is a reasonable decision of the company as since working under the flag of Russia, seafarers will be protected by national legislation. The Russian – flagged vessel will also be subject to the Federal Industry Agreement on Maritime Transport for 2021-2024, which sets minimum standards for the working conditions of crewmembers employed on Russian-flagged vessels,» - commented Nikolay Sukhanov, Chairman of the FETO SUR.

Speaking about the current state of affairs, it should be noted that in general, the situation on board of Alexander 1 is not bad. So, all crewmembers have contracts f employment, and the salary of an AB is $1890. The leader of the FETO SUR Nikolay Sukhanov noted that after the change of the flag of the wages shall not decrease, but it will translate into rubles, at least, as per the company’s information. N. Sukhanov thus pointed out that in individual contracts of employees prescribed a very modest amount of insurance in case of death or disability –only 4 million and 5 million respectively.

«This is not enough, but nevertheless it is a guarantee that the insurer will transfer the money, and the shipowner will fully bear all the costs arising from the accident»-, he explained. As for other factors that determine the working conditions of seafarers, for example, there are no wage arrears on Alexander 1, but the vessel is not covered by the ITF collective agreement. Meals for each crewmember are organized for $6 per day. It remains to say that the crew thanked the labor inspectors of the FETO SUR for the visit and especially for the delivering of the Maritime Union Herald and books on the rights of seafarers working under a convenient flag that were brought on board. The FETO SUR plans to meet with the VIS management and discuss the signing of a collective agreement.