SUR and Prosecutor's Office will check that seafarers are paid on time

The Far Eastern Territorial Organization of the Seafarers' Union of Russia has reached an agreement with the Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor's Office to conduct joint inspections of vessels at the ports of the Russian Far East in the course of the Inspection Campaign announced by the Paris and Tokyo Memorandums of Understanding on Port State Control. This three-month Inspection Campaign starts from the 1st of September 1, 2024, in ports of Europe and Asia. It will be focused on the working conditions of seafarers, with special attention to the availability of individual contracts stipulating insurance amounts and timely payment of wages. This means that vessels can be detained for debts to crew members and other serious violations of the terms of employment contracts. The goal of the campaign is to assist fleet workers in protecting their interests.

— As part of the campaign, which will take place in the Russian Far East, special attention will be paid to foreign vessels with Russian seafarers on board, recruited through Russian Federation-based crewing agencies, — FETO SUR Chairman Nikolay Sukhanov noted.

He reminded, that if an agency registered in Russia recruits seafarers for work on board vessels which have not proper financial guarantees from a foreign shipowner that ensure reimbursement to seafarers and their families of financial losses that seafarers may suffer due to the fault of the shipowner, then the Russian crewing agency is obliged to reimburse the financial losses incurred. In addition, he emphasized that the seafarer's employment contract must indicate the amount of compensation in the event of death on a voyage, as well as the details of the relative entitled to get this payment.

For reference: according to the report of the Paris and Tokyo MoUs, published in June 2024, non-payment of wages in the maritime industry is a common issue. In 2023, 132 vessels were abandoned, which is 11% more than in 2022, and hundreds of seafarers were left by their employers with millions of dollars of unpaid wages.

Nikolay Sukhanov, FETO SUR Chairman, added that according to SUR, non-payment of wages remains the number one problem in the industry. In the first half of 2024, 8 crews and 18 seafarers turned to FETO SUR. Most of their issues related to back wages, as well as compensation for damage to seafarers and their relatives and assistance in signing off from ships upon the end of contracts. The total amount of money returned to seafarers and their family members in the first six months of 2024 amounted to more than 45 million rubles: Russian crew members from MV Polar Star, MV Polar Nigh, MV Jet, MV Sitki, MV Tessa got their money thanks to the cooperation of FETO SUR, the Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor's Office and Port State Control authorities.