14.01.2022

The draft law on technical ship management poses risks for seafarers

The Seafarers’ Union of Russia shares this opinion. During the regular meeting of the Russian tripartite commission for the regulation of social and labor relations (RTK), held on December 23, 2021, the Federation of Trade Unions of Maritime Transport Workers (FPRMT), of which SUR is the part, raised the issue concerning a new draft federal law No. 1150608-7 “On amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation” (on the technical ship management), which is currently at the stage of preparation for the first reading in the State Duma. The bill stipulates one important novelty: the introduction of a new activity – a technical ship management – within the Merchant Shipping Code of the Russian Federation and the Code of Inland Water Transport of the Russian Federation.

The main aspect of the document that is of the SUR’ concern is that it paves  the way for the emergence of tripartite labor relations in within shipping as it shares shipowner's obligations towards seafarers.

Under current law, a seafarer's unpaid wages or repatriation costs are a maritime claim to the shipowner. The shipowner  is liable for such maritime claims  with his vessel which is a maritime lien and can be arrested as part of a lawsuit against the shipowner.

The bill introduced by the State Duma members proposes to entrust the technical manager not only with the ship maintenance, but also with the functions of the employer. Thus, in fact, it is proposed to separate the responsibilities of the employer and the shipowner. At the same time, it is unclear who exactly is responsible to the seafarer for his wages, repatriation and other payments.

According to the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) - the main international document that guards seafarers’ rights, a technical ship manager can be a shipowner if he takes responsibility for the operation of the vessel and the implementation of all requirements provided by the MLC. However, not a word is said about this in the document proposed by the people's deputies.

Besides, the  international practice has taken the path of recognition as a shipowner those  company that is the manager in accordance with the  International Safety Management Code (ISM Code)  requirements, which include the requirements for the technical management of ship. This position is provided for by Recommendation 129 of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) due to the complete coincidence of the definition of a shipowner in the MLC and ISM Code. The Russian Maritime Register of Shipping is a member of IACS.

It should be noted that with regard to these and other regulations which SUR considers as having potential negative impact on seafarers,  the FPRMT on December 17 sent comments and proposals on possible regulation to the RTK  secretariat. In addition the copies of these notes were sent to the Committee on Transport and Development of Transport Infrastructure of the State Duma, to the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Labor of Russia, as well as to the Coordinator of the trade union side of the RTK.

At the meeting of the RTK held on December 23, the position of the FPRMT regarding the bill was listened to: it was decided to propose to the State Duma to send the document, updated  for consideration in the second reading, to the secretariat of the RTK. Also, the Ministry of Labor was instructed to consider the bill and send the conclusion to the RTK.

The SUR is ready to propose appropriate amendments to the draft law in order to fill the gap and  take into account the requirements of international maritime conventions and protect the seafarers’ rights, - Yury Sukhorukov, the  SUR Chairman stressed.

↑ 

Up