HEALTH AND SAFETY
A DANGEROUS
PRECEDENT
Last month, we reported on how
44 SUOMEN MERENKULKU J FINLANDS SJÖFART
Maritime safety experts are flagging up
growing concerns over the failure of
maritime authorities to enforce interna-tional
safety and security regulations during the
coronavirus pandemic, which some fear could
lead to dangerously unsafe vessels plying the
world’s oceans and put seafarers’ lives at risk.
Industry regulator, the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) has issued several circular
letters to facilitate the continuous movement of
world trade during the pandemic by ensuring
smooth operations of ships with ‘practical and
pragmatic’ approaches. But worryingly, due to
the different interpretations by stakeholders —
governments, flag states, port states, classifica-tion
societies, ship owners and companies — in
many cases safe ship operations have been
deprioritised, endangering the safety of maritime
workers and the marine environment, according
to the International Transport Workers’ Federa-tion
(ITF).
some seafarers are illegally
being denied their Maritime
Labour Convention rights to crew
relief and repatriation during the
coronavirus pandemic. Now we
turn to further violations of interna-tional
treaties, highlighting Port State
Control failures to enforce safety and
security regulations that could lead to
unsafe ships returning to our waters,
both in the months to come and
longer-term. HELEN KELLY reports.
G Failures
in enforcing
regulations are
putting seafarers’
lives at risk.
ALL NAUTILUS
ARTICLES
HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN
NAUTILUS INTERNATIONALS
”TELEGRAPH” AND/OR
NAUTILUS FEDERATIONS
”THE GLOBAL
SEAFARER”.