Submissions to the IMO

The results of the SRI survey of seafarers on fair treatment in criminal prosecutions was submitted to the landmark 100th session of the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which met in London on 15 – 19 April 2013. The SRI Survey – Seafarers and the Criminal Law, which contains both the survey and the submission to the IMO is available on the SRI website .

The next submission to the IMO will be made at 101st session of the Legal Committee meeting in London on 28 April – 2 May 2014.

SRI Charter

For seafarers, if they need to consult a lawyer, then often one of the first hurdles is to find a reputable lawyer who is knowledgeable about seafarers’ rights issues, and who is willing and able to represent the seafarer at a reasonable cost.

To support seafarers in this regard, SRI has embarked on a project to create a network of lawyers worldwide who have subscribed to a Charter of Good Practice for the Provision of Legal Services to Seafarers – a set of professional ethics to bind lawyers working in any jurisdiction around the world, taking into account the particular concerns of seafarers. The Charter is unique to SRI, and seeks to provide reassurance that the seafarer client will be treated in a certain way. Subscribers to the Charter are lawyers professionally licensed to practice in their respective jurisdictions.

The response to the Charter so far has been excellent and over 100 lawyers from 50 different law firms across 34 countries worldwide have committed to it. The list of subscribing lawyers is contained on the Find a Lawyer area of the SRI website.

The list is an evolving one and is being expanded to include other lawyers working in other fields that will impact on seafarers: for example in the field of criminal law, if a seafarer faces criminal charges in the course of his work. Approaches from lawyers to be included in the list, and suggestions for other lawyers to be included, are welcomed.

Seafarer Subject Guides and Fact Files

In order to disseminate information on seafarers’ rights, SRI has issued a series of guides on seafarer related subjects. Over thirty national guides have been uploaded to the website of SRI on each of the subjects of Using Lawyers; Maritime Liens for Seafarers’ Wages; Arrest of Ships for Seafarers’ Wages; and Abandonment of Seafarers. These Guides have been edited to around 2,500 words each, and they have been written to be of use to seafarers. No similar material exists elsewhere. More guides are underway. Also a full text version of the Subject Guides, including footnotes, will become available for subscription in due course.

Also, in order to ensure that information is widely accessible to seafarers, SRI has produced Fact Files on the same subjects. This is an A6 booklet of 1,500 words. The Fact Files are of a generic nature that can be referred to if there is no available national guide. They also contain a pull-out credit card with key points of advice on the subject. The Fact Files are available on the website of SRI in Burmese, Chinese, French, Indonesian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Turkish.

Education and training

One of the commitments of SRI is to education and training, including of young professionals. In pursuit of this, SRI has conducted a series of internships and is frequently approached by students for internships. During 2013, SRI facilitated intensive work experience in the area for several students and during 2014, more activities are planned to promote knowledge in the area of seafarers’ rights amongst professionals and others who work to assist seafarers to know and to enforce their rights. Consideration is also being given to education of seafarers around the world, as well as for lawyers and others who assist seafarers.

Website and SRI Legal Database

The new website of SRI was launched in July 2013. This contains a unique legal database of materials on seafarers’ rights, gathering in one place a comprehensive collection of national and international laws, treaties, cases and other legal materials. It is an innovative resource for those wishing to develop their knowledge in the field of seafarers and the law. From the research already conducted, there are available over 500 pieces of legislation and cases from around the world directly relating to seafarers. The database materials include topics relevant to seafarers’ rights ranging from legal aid legislation and lawyers’ codes of conduct, to international agreements on maritime labour and migrant worker treaties.

The majority of the documents on the database link out to other websites and online databases: hence users can access up-to-date versions of documents and gain a greater breadth of information. Links include government websites, national databases, databases of international organisations, maritime databases, human rights databases, and academic online databases. The database has a detailed and user-friendly search facility allowing the user to search by topic keywords and/or title and/or date and/or country. The database will serve as a useful tool for seafarers and their representatives, lawyers supporting seafarers, shipping interests, academics, students and the media. The database is also a platform to disseminate original materials produced by SRI, which will either be contained in the public site or a membership area of the database.

Following the launch of the new website, and the SRI Legal Database, the SRI website is generating a consistent stream of traffic – an average of 3,000 to 4,000 page views per month since July 2013. There was a spike in hits when the SRI Legal Charter was announced with traffic that month climbing to over 7,000 page views. For the past four months the Maritime Labour Convention page has been in the top three pages viewed on the site. Otherwise, the favourites are the Legal Database landing page and the documents list (indicating a Search for a legal document) and the Using Lawyers/Find a Lawyer pages. The countries from which the SRI website is most commonly viewed are the UK, the USA and the Philippines.

The future

Late in 2013, Columbia Pictures released a movie called Captain Phillips, which quickly became a hit with audiences flocking to see it all over the world. The film, which was about Somali pirates hijacking a US-flagged and US-crewed container ship, brought to global public attention the risks faced by seafarers every day.

This was a very rare occurrence because the problems faced by the only global labour force on the planet - the approximately 1.2 million seafarers who daily bring the goods to local supermarkets and department stores around the world - seldom get serious attention. Piracy is one of the on-going challenges for the industry. “And there are many other challenges” says Deirdre Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of SRI. “All stakeholders of the industry have their own priorities, but the might of the industry depends on the labour of seafarers, and shipping needs to focus on the human element to ensure long-term sustainability. Great as the industry is, there is always work to be done to improve the quality of the industry.”

“And a lot of this depends on the image of industry. Headlines around piracy, criminalisation or abandonment or other abuses of seafarers are wildly damaging and overshadow the responsible players who make the industry such a successful one.”

“Central therefore is re-instating pride and respect for seafarers. And working on the visibility of the industry not just with politicians, but with the public also. Without a strong visibility, it is impossible to pursue a dynamic agenda for the future of the industry. And for this there needs to be a united and cohesive approach – a challenge in an industry that is inherently competitive. ”

“But competition can be positive if it rids the industry of sub-standard operators. What it must not be allowed to do is encourage the race to the bottom.”

So what about the future? David Cockroft, Advisory Board member and former General Secretary of the ITF has been instrumental in SRI from the start. “The challenge ahead, as for many organisations, is to attract not just faces to the cause, but funds also” says David Cockroft. “There is little doubt that the work of SRI is a needed contribution to the cause of the seafarers. And whilst the seafaring sector fully endorses this work, financial contributions from other stakeholders and funders will also be welcome in the years to come so that the work of SRI can continue.”

“Captain Phillips was rescued by action ordered by the US President. Luckily he was a US citizen on board a US flagged ship. There aren't many seafarers left who can expect the marines to show up if they are in trouble. Seafarers from all over the world put their freedom and sometimes their lives at risk just by signing on aboard a ship. Seafaring is becoming a less and less attractive profession for young people in every region. A sustainable global system needs seafarers who know their rights and have the capacity to defend them. That is why SRI 's future is so important.”

Source: Seafarers Right