Maritime Union’s Herald: causes of navigation accidents in Russian ports and a decrease in the prestige of the maritime profession

A new, third in this year, issue of the Marine Union’s Herald has been published. As always, the journal of Maritime Transport Workers’ Federation raises important issues directly affecting the shipping industry, from legislative changes to challenges local unions face. One of the central topics of this issue concerns  the increase of the basic wage for an able seafarer.

This decision was agreed by a subcommittee  of the Joint Maritime Commission  of the International Labour Organization. The meeting of the Subсommittee was  held in Geneva,  the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) represented  the interests of 1.5 million seafarers, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) advocated for  employers. The social partners agreed on an annual increase in the basic wage for an able seafarer starting from January 1, 2023.  The article “Unions win” tells you details of the basic wage increase during the upcoming three years. By the way, the parties consider this deal mutually beneficial for shipowners and seafarers.

The article “ Internet access and individually sized PPE for seafarers” will tell you about  amendments planned to be added to the Maritime Labor Convention in December 2024. For example,  the parties agreed to amend the requirements related to food and catering on board: to improve the supply of crews  with free drinking water, quality provisions and balanced diet. Moreover, this is about not only a sufficient amount of provisions for crews, but it takes into account the religious demands, traditions and customs of seafarers. These and other agreements were reached at the Special Tripartite Committee (STK) of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Geneva. The representatives of the  Seafarers’ Union of Russia also took part in the meeting.

Also, an important event in the life of dock workers took place - a meeting of the Council of the Russian Union of Dockers (RUD) was held. Its participants  discussed the outcome of the work had been performed  since the last meeting and the local situations and identified tasks for the near future. “Save Dockworkers’ Jobs” tells how sanctions and the decision of some shipping companies to suspend operations in Russia have affected dock workers in ports. Besides, from this article you will know about the employers RUD had managed to establish a dialogue, and why the echo of the COVID-19 pandemic is still heard in the Far East. 

The Chairman of the Interregional Union of Pilots Vladimir Kabanov  expressed his opinion about fatigue and its impact on the safety of navigation in Russian ports on the pages of the journal. He believes that non-compliance with IMO Resolution A.960 (23) and disregard for the paragraphs 9 and 10 of the Decree of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation dated March 14, 2012 No. 61 “On Approval of the Provisions on Specific Features of the Work Time and Rest Time of the Maritime Pilots and Maritime Pilot Candidates” cause navigational accidents at Russian ports. As an example, he cites two incidents with the vessels s Avila Star and Tomini Prosperity which occurred in 2014 and 2021 respectively. “If the correct conclusions had been drawn from the 2014 incident and appropriate recommendations had been developed in the wake of the incident the accident in Ust-Luga could have been avoided,” he affirmed.

Also, the third issue of  the Marine Union’s Herald tells a lot about the everyday activity of the Seafarers’ Union of Russia. So, the SUR helped the crew members of the Rek Noble bulk carrier which had being stuck at anchorage near the port of Kherson for 47 days due to the start of a special operation in Ukraine to come to Russia and then to fly back home. The seafarers thanked the SUR and its Chairman Yury Sukhorukov for their assistance and told the details of their way home.

The electronic version of the journal is available HERE.