FETO SUR assisted seafarers to get back over 75 million roubles

This is the outcome of the Far Eastern Territorial Organization of the Seafarers' Union of Russia work for 2024. During this period, eight ship crews and 30 seafarers and their families' members applied to the Union for assistance in separate cases. 

FETO SUR Chairman Nikolay Sukhanov noted that this result has been achieved thanks to the close cooperation between the Union and Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor's Office in accordance with the cooperation agreement for 2023-2026. 

— SUR and the Prosecutor's Office are interested in a productive dialogue to provide assistance to Russian seafarers and restore their rights, — Sukhanov said. — Furthermore, we believe it is of the utmost importance to use all provided legal organizational resources to increase the effectiveness of prosecutorial supervision and public control over compliance with labor legislation and international conventions in relation to Russian seafarers. 

Joint inspections of crewing companies in the region in accordance with RF Government Resolution No. 213 of February 26, 2024 made it possible to stop the activities of those agencies involved in recruitment of seafarers for work on foreign flagged vessels that do not meet the requirements of the said Resolution.

— Companies that employ seafarers to work on foreign ships are currently required to compensate seafarers for financial losses incurred as a result of the failure of a Russian legal entity engaged in overseas employment to comply with its obligations or the failure of a shipowner to comply with its obligations in relation to seafarers in accordance with an employment agreement, - Nikolay Sukhanov reminded. 

It should be noted that over the past year, FETO SUR Inspectors visited 40 vessels in Nakhodka and Vostochny: 9 of them were registered under the Russian flag and 31 - under foreign flags. The FETO SUR representatives sent 21 notices to the owners of vessels which had not been covered by any collective agreement on the need to conclude such agreement. Meetings with more than 800 seafarers were held on board the vessels.

— We always dealt with complaints from crew members about back wages right away, — Sukhanov said. — We promptly contacted the Harbour Masters, the Transport Prosecutor's Offices of Nakhodka and Primorsky Region and the courts to detain the vessels until the debts to the seafarers were fully paid off. That was the case with vessels Tessa, Polar Star, Polar Night, Jet, Winner and Olivia. 

In 2024, FETO SUR actively participated in the Concentrated Inspection Campaign announced by the Paris and Tokyo Memorandums of Understanding on Port State Control. As part of the focused on the working conditions of seafarers, campaign, ship documentation and individual contracts of crew members were examined. In case of identifying issues or complaints about working conditions of seafarers, shipowners had to immediately eliminate violations in order to avoid the ship detention. 

This campaign, which was held in ports across Europe and Asia from September 1 to November 30, 2024, proved to be a success. For example, FETO SUR assisted seafarers to get back over $75 million of unpaid wages.

 It should be noted that specifically for the period of the campaign, FETO SUR reached an agreement with the Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor's Office to carry out joint inspections of ships in the ports of the Russian Far East. 

In the photo from left to right: FETO SUR Chairman Nikolay Sukhanov and Nakhodka Transport Prosecutor Stanislav Dremov