Suicide Trip

Ship detained after arriving in port without pilot or navigation equipment

The ITF came to the rescue of stranded crew on board the Malaysian flagged tug boat MV Modalwan 1022 in Cairns recently only to find the seafarers were lucky to have made it to dry land.

The tug had arrived in port in December towing a US army barge for repair.

ITF inspector Graham Bragg reports that comrade Bernie Gallen visited the crew. But at that time no seafarer would speak out.

Nevertheless the Australian Maritime Safety Authority detained the tug. It had no global maritime distress and safety system equipment, the masters and engineers had no certificates of recognition from the flag state and the chief mate's certificate was not up to standard.

The crew were later to recall how they towed the barge into Australian waters without the right navigational charts, a pilot or radio capable of picking up international frequencies.

"We would radio our employer in Malaysia and get instructions after giving our position from the Global Positions System," said one crew member.

Suicide-trip. This is how ITF inspector described the mission.

"I reckon they deserve a gold medal."

But it was eight long weeks before the ITF were to learn of the sorry affair.

Seafarers on a neighbouring vessel alerted the local delegate that the Modalwan crew were living in sub-standard and they weren't getting paid.

"I wasted no time in contacting the manning company," said ITF inspector Graham Bragg. "We demanded full settlement of wages and repatriations to their homes. "

By February the company agreed to pay up. But they did not keep their promise. And no amount of correspondence was getting results.

Bragg was concerned with crew conditions. No air conditioners or mosquito netting meant the crew were doing it rough in tropical wet conditions. By mid-March it was becoming a humanitarian concern.

Bragg contacted the Malaysian High Commission in Canberra and requested assistance. But the company only paid a portion of the wages and hotel accommodation bill.

"Your promises have gone on for 18 weeks. We and our families are suffering through our quandary in a foreign country," seven of the eight crew signed in a written statement.

Finally the company agreed to settle wages, confirming they had ongoing work back in Indonesia. They also offered to give crew time off back home before starting the new contract.

By April 7 the company settled wages and sought AMSA approval for the vessel to sail. But AMSA refused to release the vessel until the crew could prove they could operate the equipment. They refused. There were still outstanding matters with the ship and the company to be settled.

Graham Bragg decided to fully explain the latest proposal to the crew.

"These poor blokes were frustrated with the length of time they had been kept from home and were understandably wary of the company offer," said Bragg. "They agreed to sail the vessel only if some basic conditions were met."

The ITF got good results - an ongoing voyage allowance, new mattresses, bed linen and better food, safety clothing and equipment.

They also received a signed ITF letter of indemnity. The total crew bonus for sailing the vessel home came to $16,150 and individual wages averaging $2,515 per month.

The crew of the Modalwan were extremely grateful.

There were a few tears of joy on the wharf as everyone farewelled the brave seafarers.

Their voyage was supposed to have taken five weeks. Five months later they finally set sail.

"I advised them to join the Seamen's Union in Indonesia for future protection," said Bragg. "As I see it, this crew and their families received very little respect from their employer. This company must have more money than sense to prolong the issue for so long. The hotel bill and associated expenses would have cost them plenty."

Recognition must also go to MUA delegate Bernie Gallen and the interpreters who provided so much help to the crew during the sorry affair.

ITF Swoops on 2 Ships

MEANWHILE the ITF swooped on two Flag of Convenience vessels guilty of exploiting crew in May - one the Port of Adelaide - the other in Newcastle.

First came the call for help from the Ukrainian crew on board the Cypriot flagged MV Panamax Sun via a local priest. At issue were wages, food and cabin conditions.

A Maritime Union delegate went on board to find crew living in damp cabins surviving on rations of pasta and rice and the ship in a dreadful condition. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority detained the vessel.

Further investigation over the weekend found that the crew had survived with no hot water for five months and had been underpaid tens of thousands in wages.

"They've been working 12-14 hours a day for the past 5 months and half starved," said retiring branch secretary Keith Ridgeway. "We alerted the local Ukrainian community and made sure they've got fresh food and water now, but we still have to sort their pay. "

ITF Australia co-coordinator Dean Summers stressed this is not an isolated case of crew abuse.

"It's endemic," said Summers. "At the same time the Ukranian crew were sending us an SOS in Adelaide, I was called to sort things on a vessel in Newcastle - the Cypriot flag of convenience Stone Gemini. Here again the crew were living in squalid conditions on a 23 year old bulkie well past its prime."

By the time Summers went on board the crew from Sri Lanka, the Ukraine, the Maldives and Russia had to make do with fire buckets to flush the toilets and they were owed just under US $100,000 in back pay.

"Before they could get a job the Sri Lankan seafarers were each made to pay the Sri Lankan manning agent US$1,600 plus US$3000 in 'insurance' that they would not talk to the ITF. And to top it off their families were each made to sign forms in advance that they had received 15 (US$350) monthly allotments - money they never received."

The dispute came to a head on Saturday after 35 hours of negotiations when the crew went on strike and refused to let the ship sail.

"Only then did the agent in Colombo admit he had not paid $35,000 in family allotments and around two months wages of US$60,000."

The ITF then arranged for three of the crew to be repatriated home and the ship sailed for Singapore that night.