Maritime Mailbag

Letters from the ports and ships

Salvage Rights & Wrongs

Comrades, a couple of years back, we the crew members of the Pacific Conqueror were sent out to rescue a ship in distress off Wilson promontory. The seas that we went out in were eight metres high. The ship, the Maersk Tacoma, had lost all engines and had dropped her starboard anchor. The starboard anchor, however, didn't take hold and the vessel continued to drift closer and closer to the group of Hogan Islands (Bass Strait), in fact two miles from grounding when we salvaged her. I don't want to bore you with the salvage details, but what I want to do is tell you what happened later with the payments.

The company solicitor came on board during the salvage; he advised us that under Maritime Law, we had nothing to worry about, as it was all sorted out at the court level. We believed that a fair settlement would be had by all; this is very far from the truth.

Swire Pacific settled out of court, they settled for $1,375,000 US Dollars. The crew were paid a total of $320,891 Australian Dollars, this being divided (unequally) amongst us, with the captain, 1st and 2nd mate, the chief engineer, the second, and even the extra engineer, all getting a larger payment than the MUA members. In fact, out of the $320,891, the five MUA members combined collected a total of $61,710, compared to the $250,181 that was divided amongst the other 6 crew (again unequally amongst them).

A question asked by myself to the company solicitor was - if we all die attempting to rescue this ship, does all our families get the same death payout? His answer was 'yes'. So if this is the case, why is it then, that in a very successful salvage we all get paid different rates.

I took the case up with a solicitor and it became clear we had a good case to sue. However, since the company had settled out of court and every one (bar two of us) had taken the money and agreed to the amount paid, we were lost. The case would have cost us more than what we would get.

The reason for this letter is simple, if it looks like you are going to do a salvage job, don't sit back thinking someone is going to give you a big cheque, it won't happen. Instead, get everyone on board to lodge a claim on the salvage. For this you have to collectively get everyone to go to the same maritime lawyer. And I can recommend a good one. I do stress comrades that it must be lodged immediately after a successful salvage so they cannot settle out of court without your approval

I believe the MUA members were discriminated against. Swires settled their salvage claim out of court, leaving the amount to be paid to the crew, entirely up to them.

My suggestion is that your delegates put a clause in your EBA (and make sure it's a big one) regarding salvage payouts - having something in writing may keep them honest.

Yours in unity,

Union Number 520

Asbestos Threat

We first raised the alarm when we found suspicious looking lagging material being dislodged in the engine room.

The Smith Lloyd Safe was picked up in Singapore in April 2002 and has been engaged as a standby guard and supply boat in the Bayu Undan field. Total Marine had inspections done in Singapore that cleared it of any asbestos. However on the 27th June we were told that we would be doing seismic work and the equipment was brought on board. This work was finished on the 1st of July with some 100 shots fired in that time. The gun was hung from the stores crane, which in our opinion did not have a long enough boom for this type of work. This proved true with it being the cause of many problems not the least was the suspicious looking lagging material being dislodged in the engine room. The Chief Engineer Chris Blackmore much to his credit took samples on leave and gave half to AIMPE and the other half to Total Marine to be analysed.

On August 7, it was confirmed that the material found was Chrysotile asbestos, which is the most dangerous type. Total Marine then sent an advisor out to the vessel while it was on location explaining the situation and health risks and also outlining the plan for removal of the unstable asbestos. An inspection of the vessel brought to light 7 different places and 2 different types both Chrysotile and Crocidolite asbestos that where used in the lagging throughout the engine room. Total Marine had a shore contractor remove the asbestos that had become unstable on August 29 when the ship was in Darwin for crew change. This was when things went very wrong with the shore contractors disregarding the regulations for asbestos removal and doing a very unprofessional job of it.

When we joined the vessel on August 30, we were greeted with asbestos on the wharf on the gangway and on the outside decks; of course, it was all through the engine room as well. The Captain Richard Dixon, to his credit, immediately informed the proper authorities and we, asked Rod Currie from the Darwin Branch to come down and represent us in this matter. The shore contractors were made to come back on board and spray all loose pieces of asbestos with PVA and then remove it. Rod informed us that we could leave the vessel while tests were carried out to see if particals were air borne, however after discussing the matter we decided due to duty of care with the big tide difference we would stay until the results were back that afternoon. The vessel was quarantined until the results of the atmospheric tests were back and clear. We then sailed that night with equipment to do further atmospheric tests which all came back clear.

On October 3-4 meetings were held in Darwin giving both crews an opportunity to give their opinions and to hear Total Marine's position. The MUA was also represented by Rod Currie and with representatives from AIMPE, the asbestos removal contractors Darwin Port Authority, Seacor, NT Work Health, Phillips Petroleum and NT Shipping. The meeting was a success with most crew members participating and special mention must be made of Rod Currie who left no doubt as to what was expected from Total Marine, Phillips and the removal contractors. One outcome of the meeting was that the inspection of the engine room in Singapore was far from good enough with only 6 sites looked at on a vessel that was built in an era when asbestos was widely used and that a more comprehensive inspection should be carried out with perhaps an AIMPE rep present in the future.

On December 2, we received a comprehensive plan for the removal of the remaining components with asbestos lagging which had not been compromised at that stage. The removal went ahead on December 9 and was completed on December 13 without any problems.

All crew members and any other person who could possibly have been exposed to asbestos on the Smit Lloyd Safe at the time have been placed on an asbestos register and have undergone an extensive medical and will do so every two years for the next 30 years.

Yours in unity,

On Behalf of the Crew of the Smit Lloyd Safe

Wonderful Experience

Mark Armstrong & Gary Keane, first of all may I say thank you for what you have done over the years for myself and family, especially in the last few weeks on the voluntary early retirement that has been implemented in the Port of Kembla.

I have been proud to have been a member firstly with the WWF then the MUA, two great Trade Unions, and it has been a wonderful experience that will stay with me for the rest of my days.

It is with great regret that I have to leave this marvellous Union. As you know, I have taken the retirement and I am now seeking clearance from the Union, and at the same time make an application for life membership.

I wish you all good health and well being, and the utmost success with your EBA negotiations with Toll Stevedores.

I would also like to thank Carol and Veronica for everything that you have done.

Neil Cook

Port Kembla

Congrats

I understand congratulations are in order for Sue Virago. I saw the article in The Telegraph about her election as ITF deputy women's committee chair. Well done

Linda White

Australian Services Union

Doing Great Things

Just read about the promotion to vicechair of the ITF women's committee... well done, Sue! And your award as well - you're doing great things!

Kylie Reynolds

Flight Attendants Association of Australia

Good News

The crew of the Southern Supporter would like to report on a new drilling operation we have been engaged in. A drill attached to an umbilical cord is lowered to the seabed where it sits upright. It's then remotely controlled from the ship and goes to work.

The machine was built and designed by an Australian company and it was operated by an Australian company called Benthic Geotech.

The machine is still very much in its teething stages of commercial operations inside the offshore oil and gas industries.

Over time and with Benthic Geotech improving their operations, every charter could certainly find itself with plenty of work, which is good news for Australian seafarers as we crew the vessels that carry the PROD (as it is called in Australian waters).

The drilling work Benthic Geotech is doing its preliminary work; taking sample cores of the seabed to set up rigs legs, lay pipe lines etc. This of course also means more work in the future for Australian seafarers, rigs, tenders, etc.

The last client was Woodside. Two new gas fields in the Otway Basin and hope to be on line with two new rigs in 12 to 24 months.

Though the work can be tedious some of the time, morale remained high, all union members and company representatives extended the utmost courtesy and professionalism to each other. The Port of Portland also became a familiar site, which certainly helped.

In unity always,

The Southern Supporter

Morale Boost

We would like to express our gratitude to the EBA Committee and the Port Kembla Executive for selecting us as representatives of the Port to attend the Tolls All Ports meetings in Melbourne.

As members of the working party from Port Kembla Branch we were able to experience for the first time the interaction and discussion between members from other ports.

These discussions were around the difficulties each Port had regarding negotiating their EBA's with the Toll negotiating team.

The members attending these discussions split up into working groups and these groups were able to put together a list of common ground issues and core points to work off. Also a resolution was carried that ties the Tolls Stevedoring employees in a unified way that will see an exchange of information regarding our strategies and the strategies used by Toll Management against us.

We are convinced that meetings like the Melbourne Toll All Ports can boost morale and unify us to meet and deal with a full frontal attack by Toll.

We would like to express our admiration of the organisational work done by the Southern New South Wales Port Deputy Branch Secretary (Hon) Garry Keane, whilst we were attending this meeting.

Yours in solidarity,

Port Kembla Branch

Cheers Comrades

We would like to start by saying a heartfelt thank you to Mike Wickham (Tasmanian Branch Secretary) and John Higgins (outgoing Victorian Deputy Branch Secretary opposite) for their perseverance and continued efforts to see that what workers are entitled to, they receive.

We are currently undertaking TIR training at the Australian Maritime College in Launceston, 14 TIR's in total.

All the members are sponsored by several different companies, T-T line and ASP making up the majority. For some of the members it has been a long road to get here and a costly exercise at that.

This being the case it has been necessary to roll with the punches a bit and try and think positive even when things have been difficult and we would've otherwise pursued certain issues. Unfortunately, being human, there comes a time when it is no longer possible to be silent about issues and continue to cop a rough deal even when it could be to the detriment of your future and your reputation if you speak out.

Over the past 10 weeks two issues have continued to raise their ugly heads and cause considerable tension and confusion amongst the TIR's at AMC.

The first issue is in regard to meal allowances for weekends. For some reason it has been necessary to accommodate us at the Beauty Point campus, which doesn't serve meals on weekends, rather than the Newnham campus which serves meals 7 days a week. This being the case a meal allowance is being paid to compensate for the lack of meals. From what we understood the "industry standard rate" is $67.00 per day. From the first weekend here at the AMC we have received $20.00 per day, this is a difference of $94.00 over the whole weekend for 10 weeks. As you can see this is now a considerable amount and considering that trainee wages are quite low some members are now out of pocket and struggling.

The second issue that has arisen is regarding SRF superannuation entitlements. This issue specifically pertains to ASP employees and their employer not bothering to comply with legislation or honour their duty of care to employees and their futures.

For 10 weeks now ASP have neglected to pay superannuation entitlements for their employees. When SRF were contacted to see if these employees had accounts set up for them they were told that no correspondence had been received from ASP.

These two issues simply serve to highlight the constant battle that we face with employers and a government that supports their lies and inhumane treatment of workers in this country.

Meal allowances and superannuation are not provisions that we should have to bow and scrape and remain silent to receive. They are conditions that have been won at the expense of workers lives through years of hard fought struggle, struggle that we are extremely grateful. It is our belief that continuing to remain silent on these issues will only give authority for these companies to continue with this disgraceful behaviour and set our cause back even further, slapping in the face our forbears that sacrificed so much for the conditions we now enjoy.

We would like to note that this is not a whinge session about Trainee wages, respecting the fact that trainees before us received much less, but an attempt to highlight issues that we are facing.

We would like to again thank the Tasmanian Branch, Victorian Branch and the Federal office for their continuing support throughout our time at the AMC. We understand that there are many issues facing the union at this time, resources are stretched to their limits and elections are taking place but, the commitment and time that officials have dedicated to what may appear to some as "Minor" issues is greatly appreciated by all members, some recently joined, at the AMC.

In unity

Craig Timbery,Jake Field

Revitalised

During the 1970's and 1980's we as a union had an ongoing campaign against overseas shipping companies taking the jobs of Australian Seafarers such as Utah, Columbus Line and Tiger IPEC Line to name but a few.

On most occasions we were successful in prohibiting these companies from taking our jobs and in some cases we gained work.

We must again revitalise our Aussie Shipping Campaign. Let the public know what this government is doing to an industry that's so vital to the economy of this country. Write letters to your local papers, talk to people about our industry and where it's going. Public opinion is what's going to help us but we must let the public know.

Our Union officials can only do so much, so if you want to help our industry, turn up for stop work meetings, have your say, but comrades don't sit in mess rooms and the local pub and criticise our Union and our officials. We are only as strong as our membership and one chink in our armour and we are wounded.

Get together, talk, discuss and try to work things out positively and we will all gain from the experience.

Sean Breen

Union No. 58

Unity Comrades

Over the last decade or so our union has seen and been through a hell of a lot. We have achieved some great victories, but have also endured some rough times. We have managed to overcome them with intelligence, leadership and pride.

Yes, the industrial playing field has changed dramatically, but we are still there, fighting the struggle and maintaining our basic rights. We live in a time unfortunately where the right wing rule throughout our world. Their sole agenda is to suppress the working class, creating a whole new under class, with no rights other than to fight amongst themselves over the few scraps that are left. Is this a type of world we want for our children?

We have seen the extreme right use the American war machine with little Johnny eyes wide shut, riding shot gun by Bush's side.

We have witnessed the media and right wing manipulation tool right here at home with the Tampa/boat people incident still fresh in our minds. The right does not stop at anything. They will continue to manipulate and suppress any opposition until they are in full control of our world and her resources, with organised labour at the very top of their list.

This is precisely why now more than ever, we, the MUA and the union movement must stick solid. Debate within is healthy, questioning and discussing union policy is good for our organisation, but vitriolic attacks on officials and the rubbish sheets around the joint, spells out nothing more than self destruction.

I too wish we could bring back conditions of old, but some of us must realise times have changed. The industrial laws that are currently in place, not just here in Australia, but around the world, were put there to encourage frustration and infighting, all these play straight into the hands of the extreme right, where does that leave us? This is why we must progress with intelligent and logical ideas to negotiate this industrial mine field. If we went down the path of what some of these rubbish sheets are stating, we would last five minutes out there.

In closing, remember how we got our strength? Unity comrades, that's the key factor to any organisation, especially a proud, historical and passionate one like ours. We must use our power and influence to the MUA and the working classes advantage.

David the Duck Williams

Union Book No. 1709

Sad Day

We, the MUA members of the M/T Barrington, strongly condemn Australia's involvement in the war against the people of Iraq.

We agree with the Secretary General of the United Nations that the invasion was a sad day for the UN and peace loving people around the world.

R. Hartman (No. 3803)

Delegate, M/Tanker Barrington

Thanks Comrades

On behalf of retired member John (Scouse) Ball, ex chief cook of Melbourne, I would like to thank the comrades at the September Stop Work Meeting in Melbourne for their generosity in contributing to a tarpaulin muster for John which ended up being a sizeable amount of money.

John is in a nursing home in Franston Victoria after suffering a stroke and the members generosity is kindly appreciated. Once again, on behalf of John, thanks Comrades for your help.

Regards,

Union No. 58

PM Condemned

MUA Members aboard the dredge "Cornelis Zanen" condemn your actions in committing Australian troops to Iraq.

Your pampering to the oil hungry Bush regime can only lead to the deaths and injury of young Australians.

May they be forever in your conscience.

Geoff Tickle