|
|
Change low graphic options | Change language | Skip content to navigation
Page context: Home > News online
Joint action resolves crew neglect case in Panama
2 December 2009
A case of crew neglect that reared its head when a fishing vessel laid up for 10 years was brought back into service has been solved by an ITF inspector working with the Argentinean maritime authority.
The Argentinean-flagged Mar de Vigo had been moored for a decade without maintenance when in March this year a Panamanian ship owner bought it to convert into a general cargo ship to trade in the Caribbean.
However, while work went on, the newly recruited Cuban crew found themselves short of pay, medicine and basic necessities. Despite apprehension by the crew about protesting and a complete lack of help from the Panamanian and Cuban consulates, ITF Buenos Aires inspector Rodolfo Vidal moved in to secure unpaid wages and put pressure on the ship owner to provide food and stoves for heating. Weekly visits were made to solve problems with lack of medicine and medical care, with substandard accommodation, and with the vessel itself.
When Panamanian certificates of seaworthiness suddenly arrived, apparently dated to before the repairs began, and with the vessel about to depart, Rodolfo Vidal made an urgent safety check. His findings were passed on to the Argentinean coastguard, which confirmed the vessel's was indeed unseaworthy. The maritime authority quickly moved to arrest the vessel as unsafe and removed its certification. Only when the necessary work was done in October, and with the crew in possession of US$78,000 dollars in wages, did the Mar de Vigo leave Buenos Aires for the Caribbean.
Maritime authorities sent the ITF office in Argentina a note of gratitude, for cooperating with its objectives: safety and security of navigation, safeguarding human lives and property, as well as the preserving the environment.
ITF Argentinean co-ordinator Roberto Alarcón commented: I'd like to mention the significant part played by the maritime authorities in resolving this case. Thanks to their co-operation we were able to solve the problems these crew members were experiencing during their several months wait here in Buenos Aires.
Back to current news online stories
Section home:
News online
Other pages for News online:
About News Online | What is RSS | ITF Headlines on your Website
RSS feeds
Download our free RSS news feeds:
English |Español |Français |Deutsch |Svenska
What is RSS?
Main Sections:
Home | About us | Solidarity | Flags of Convenience campaign | Seafarers | Dockers | Civil Aviation | Railways | Road transport | Urban Transport | Fisheries | Tourism | Inland Navigation | Women | Education | Young workers | Home
Transport International Magazine
accessibility | site help | site map
ITF House, 49-60 Borough Road, London SE1 1DR | +44 20 7403 2733 | mail@itf.org.uk
