Protests outside Australian Embassies and Consulates, corporate offices and on the waterfront called for a reinvigoration of Australia’s domestic shipping industry and urged Australian voters to change the government at the upcoming Australia federal election on May 18.
Dockers are the workers trained in lashing, seafarers are not. That difference matters.
The meeting in Cartagena last week culminated with the launch of the ITF Latin American Contact Network, extending the ITF’s commitment to providing support to seafarers in the region.
The targeted operation will see the ITF Inspectorate – a network of 147 inspectors and contacts based in ports all over the world – inspecting and auditing the Blumenthal fleet in ports around the world.
The International Seafarers' Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) has produced new guidance to assist welfare organisations when they are supporting seafarers who are abandoned or dealing with vessels that have been arrested or detained.
The latest quarterly figures from the International Chamber of Commerce International Maritime Bureau (IMB) show a fall in incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships reported to the IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre in the first three months of 2019 compared with the same period in 2018.
Iceland and Ethiopia have become the latest member states of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to ratify the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended (MLC 2006), which sets out minimum international working and living conditions for seafarers on board vessels.
The incident involving Contship Oak occurred on March 30, 2019, is the latest abduction in the Gulf of Guinea, which has become a global hotspot for modern piracy and attacks against ships.
Armed robbers and pirates continue to pose a threat to seafarers in many waters and ports. West Africa has been a particular hotspot, but incidents also take place in other regions.
The European Union (EU) has suspended its search-and-rescue sea patrols that have helped to rescue thousands of refugees and migrants attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing into European waters, often in overcrowded and unseaworthy boats.
