Continuous watch of the M/V Kompozitor Rakhmaninov crew has taken too long

Ten crew members of the  the M/V Kompozitor Rakhmaninov (IMO 8606616, Russian flag) cannot secure  repatriation from  their employer  Transmorflot LLC.   According to one of the seafarers, the conditions on board were unacceptable to stay any more. The vessel lacked  supplies, the air temperature in the cabins reached  30-32 ° C, in the engine room – over 40 ° C, not to speak about the galley. In addition, the food storing refrigerator broke down, but the crew's request to change it was denied. Ro-ro cargo vessel  Kompozitor Rakhmaninov carries trucks  on Iran-Kuryk service.

The crew turned for help to Olga Ananyina, an ITF Inspector  in Novorossiysk. In the messages sent to Olga Ananyina the seafarers stated that they would have been  staying on board the M/V Kompozitor Rachmaninov for 6 months in July.  The employer assures that he will arrange a crew change  in Astrakhan on August, 20, but the seafarers do not believe it, as  from the experience of colleagues from other ships owned by Transmorflot they know that the  promises of the management mean nothing. For example, one of the crew members said that the crew from the m/v Genrikh Hasanov  (IMO 9083196, Russian flag) had been waiting for repatriation since winter, but in fact they had been replaced  “only recently”.

Additionally, there is a sick seafarer on board the M/V Kompozitor Rachmaninov. It has  turned out  only  during the voyage that  ont of the crew members  had epilepsy. “We don't know how a person with a neurological disease could got a job at sea”,  his colleagues say. "Anyway it would be reasonable to sign him off as soon as possible - no one wants to face another epileptic fit on board."  In Kazakhstan the crew members called doctors, but they refused  to take the sick crew member  to hospital  as at the time when the ambulance arrived his epileptic seizure had passed. The company itself does not take any action to arrange  repatriation and medical assistance for him.

It should be mentioned that it is not the first time when  the problems with the M/V Kompozitor Rachmaninov arise. So, at the end of 2019 the Astrakhan Transport Prosecutor's Office carried out a labor legislation  compliance by Transmorflot LLC and found  violations. It turned out that the shipowner did not comply with the requirements of the Regulations on the specifics of the working and rest hours of crew members on sea-going ships and the Maritime Labor Convention and didn't  change crews  in time. At the time of the audit the crew had been working on board the vessel for more than six months.

At that time, following the Astrakhan transport prosecutor orders,  Transmorflot LLC was brought to administrative responsibility under Part 1 of Art. 5.27 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation (violation of labor legislation) and fined. 

According to Olga Ananyina, this company has bad reputation at the ITF. Not so long ago the Inspector had to address problems related to  the other vessel of this company: the crew of the M/V Blue Star complained about expired employment contracts, the inaction of the management of Transmorflot LLC in providing replacement to them and the grave situation on board in general. In June  it was managed to arrange  repatriation from Kuwait of crew member with ill eye, though with great difficulties. 

And in July, according to the wife of one  of the crew, other crew members were repatriated after eight months of being on board of the vessel in Oman and Fujairah. The repatriation of the seafarers has been arranged only after the intervention of ITF.