The crew of Minoan Falcon thanked SUR for their support

Today, Inspectors of the Far Eastern Territorial Organization of the Seafarers’ Union of Russia have visited the m/v Minoan Falcon (flag of Liberia, IMO 9605841) berthed at Nakhodka under a coal loading destined for Vietnam. 

The registered owner of the bulk carrier is Majesty Ship trade Ltd (Greece), the operator and beneficial owner of the vessel, which is a signatory to the Declaration of Maritime Labor Compliance, Part II, and pays the wages to the crew is Modion Maritime Management SA (Greece). The crew consists of 22 Filipinos. 

The crew warmly welcomed the SUR representatives on board and invited them to the captain's cabin. The captain showed all the documents necessary to check the working and living conditions of the crew and said that there was no collective agreement with a trade union on board. At the request of the FETO SUR Inspectors, the captain gathered the crew in the mess-room. 

-We drew the crew's attention to the fact that they are working on a vessel under a flag of convenience, - Nikolay Sukhanov, FETO SUR Chairman said. — It is noteworthy that even in the first edition of the Maritime Code of Liberia, the draft of which was brought to Monrovia from the United States, there were no provisions regarding the inspection or oversight by the Liberian authorities of the technical condition of vessels registered under their country's flag. The code did not contain any mention of regulations on the working hours of crew members, annual paid leave, minimum wage and other labor conditions. All this and other exemptions turned out to be so attractive for shipping companies in comparison with national laws that in the post-war years the practice of registering under flags of convenience became widespread. 

To counter the spread of the system, seafarers' unions have established and approved minimum requirements regarding working conditions for seafarers working on board flag of convenience vessels. It was agreed that the minimum wage of an AB Seaman should be at least USD1,836, and the insured amount in case of seafarers' death should be at least USD110,000. 

-However, the salary of an AB Seaman working on board the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Minoan Falcon is USD1,191,and the insured amount in case of seafarers' death is just USD50,000, - Sukhanov added. 

The seafarers asked to send a notice to the shipowner requiring to enter into negotiations with the Greek Seafarers' Union on signing a collective agreement. The Filipinos thanked representatives of the Seafarers' Union of Russia for their support. FETO SUR Inspectors gave the crew books on the rights of seafarers working on FOC vessels, fresh magazines "Maritime Unions Herald" and calendars.