Starboard Strategies - July 01 2015

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If you cannot pay your crew, you should not put your ship to sea. It is that simple. Any arguments to the contrary would serve to do our industry a disservice. Unfortunately, without the proposed amendments, there is currently no meaningful deterrent to this premise.

The fact is that affordable cover in respect of the indemnification of unpaid wages is available, and it is available now. It is in the best interests of the industry and seafarers alike that responsible owners support the ratification and early adoption of the draft amendments to MLC in this regard

The mantra that “owners who cannot pay their crew should not put ships to sea”, is a compelling one. It also provides an insight into an industry which has a rather schizophrenic view of its relationships. On one hand the globalised economy has used shipping as the conveyor belt to drive progress – but at what professional and human cost to seafarers? On the other, the economies have conveniently forgotten the plight of the ill-paid / unpaid seafarer and his family left to starvation diet.

According to experts the relatively simple notion of shipping has developed into a complex multi-layered network with many global players and stakeholders added to the original and basic “shipper-carrier-consignee” relationship.