Seafarers covered by
International Bargaining Forum (IBF) agreements can refuse to sail through the
Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, but it takes a high level of pre-planning
according to ITF head Stephen Cotton
With the continued, and worsening
threat to shipping while transiting the region from Houthi rebels in Yemen, the
IBF Warlike Operations Area Committee
(WOAC) has agreed to expand the High
Risk Area to include the Gulf of Aden and surrounding waters.
Stephen Cotton, General Secretary of
International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), speaking to Seatrade Maritime
News in Singapore on Friday, 16 Feb ,explained, “We reached an agreement under the International Bargaining Forum that
it isn't a war zone, but actually it has all the benefits as if it was a war
zone, including, you don't have to go. You can sign off.”
IBF agreements cover over 250,000
seafarers working on over 10,000 vessels and are agreed between the ITF and the
Joint Negotiating Group representing employers.
He said the attacks by the Houthi
rebels in Yemen, which started three months ago, had created a massive sense of
unrest among seafarers who wanted to know what their rights are including
if you could get of the vessel.
“If they want to get off, can they get off?
And the answer is yes. But it takes a high level of pre-planning,” Cotton said.
For example, he said the last port of call before the Gulf of Aden and the Red
Sea could be Singapore thousands of miles away.
Under the IBF agreement if seafarers’ refuse to sail into the
area companies have to pay for repatriation and compensation equal to two
months basic wage. Compensation
does not apply if the seafarer is transferred to another vessel belonging or
related to the same owner/manager, on the same rank and wages and all other
terms.
While seafarers can refuse to sail
through the high risk area many companies, particularly in the container liner
sector, have decided to divert their vessels via the Cape of Good Hope.
“But we also have to recognise a lot
of the companies that we talked to, and we have agreements with, made what we
believe is the right decision to go around the Cape,” Cotton said. This however
exacerbates challenges with the supply chain, timelines for delivery, and
seafarers being on board ship for longer periods.At the same time he noted
there are some companies that have business in the region and as such cannot
choose not to go sail there.
The ITF
also has concerns around vessels calling at Israeli ports given the conflict in
Gaza putting seafarers at risk, however, these ports have not been declared a
high risk area. “But we haven't been able to get further along in that
discussion, and to me that is a little bit disappointing,” he said
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