FETO SUR: it took two months to get port passes

It took Inspectors of the Far Eastern Territorial Organization of the Seafarers’ Union of Russia two months to get entry passes to the ports of Nakhodka and Vostochny to have the opportunity to visit vessels with SUR members on board. According to Nikolay Sukhanov, FETO SUR Chairman, the main difficulty was that previously it was possible to get one pass and visit all the ports of Nakhodka and Vostochny, but the rules have changed.

The fact is that the port of Nakhodka has been divided into many cargo terminals, and now you should have a separate pass to enter each of them. For example, the port of Nakhodka has been split into checkpoints of Sea Commercial Port, Sea Fishing Port, Attis Enterprise LLC, Primorsky Plant-Eastern Gate, Nakhodka Ship Repair Yard, Timber Terminal, Vostochny Port and others.

“We had to get 20 passes, and each of them should be approved separately through the Federal Security Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Customs and Border Guard checkpoints,” Sukhanov explained”. —“Each time a pass was issued, it was necessary to receive briefings on OHS and fire safety. In addition, we had to explain to the authorities why we needed the port passes. It is well known, that it is a right of a trade union organization to have access to the workplaces of trade union members”. Nikolay Sukhanov continues: “We were told that we do not have the right to visit ships flying a foreign flag, since Order of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 907-r dated June 24, 2008, paragraph 70, only says about port visits by state port control employees, and its other clauses do not provide a legal right of admittance to the restricted territory of the port. At the same time, the legal right to visit the workplaces of trade union members in accordance with the Federal Law on Trade Unions was not disputed - we were offered to visit ships at terminals from the seaside, which meant to hire an expensive port boat each time we wanted to visit a vessel calling at port. And now, almost two months later, we have completed the execution of passes and have every right to visit sea vessels calling at the ports of Nakhodka and Vostochny.”

It should be noted that inspection of working conditions on board vessels is the cornerstone in the work of the Seafarers' Union of Russia. In particular, last year, the FETO SUR Inspectors visited 45 vessels flying Russian and foreign flags in the ports of Nakhodka and Vostochny. Meetings with more than a thousand seafarers were held on board of vessels. Following such inspections, various shipowners received 32 warning notices about the need to conclude collective agreements; three companies did that, providing their crew with guarantees of decent employment. For reference: the seaport of Nakhodka is in a special position in the transport market of the region, providing a significant share of the turnover of both dry and liquid cargo. There are three ports in Nakhodka: commercial, oil and fishing. In June 2023, by order of the Government of the Russian Federation, changes were made to the boundaries of the seaport of Nakhodka related to the expansion of land plots - Podyapolsky and Preobrazheniya bays were added. All ports of Nakhodka have regular sea service with China, Japan, the USA and Canada, and in total, provide maritime traffic with more than 42 countries of the world.