NAUTILUS AT WORK 02 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | September 2011


New plan to fight criminalisation


Nautilus survey leads to proposals for protecting members’ legal rights P


Signing up to the seafar- ers’ ‘bill of rights’ is vital if the maritime industry


is going to tackle the rising threat of criminalisation, according to a report from Nautilus Interna- tional released this month. The report — based on the


criminalisation survey which took place last year as part of the launch of Seafarers’ Rights Inter- national (SRI) — highlights seven action points which the Union will be focussing on in the coming years to tackling the rising tide of criminal prosecutions against seafarers. ‘The increasing criminalisa- tion of maritime professionals is one of the biggest industry con- cerns that Nautilus International currently deals with,’ said general secretary Mark Dickinson. ‘The Union has always been at the forefront of the drive to ensure that seafarers are not used as scapegoats in the event of a maritime incident, but in recent years the pressure to penalise those involved in accidents and incidents at sea has increased dra- matically. ‘A great deal of concern rightly exists about criminalisation and, like piracy, it is a phenomenon where the fear of an incident is as


significant as the threat itself,’ he added. As well as calling on the UK


and Dutch governments to sign up to the Maritime Labour Con- vention 2006 (known as the sea- farers’ bill of rights), Nautilus has committed to: zupdating the Union’s information on its network of overseas lawyers zproviding members with information about their rights following incidents and accidents onboard zlobbying the UK and Netherlands governments to ensure that future legislation does not increase the risk of criminalisation for seafarers zholding further criminalisation seminars zsupporting the future work of SRI


A new guide to the Nautilus


International network of global lawyers will be released next month, both as a handy booklet and an online resource. It is hoped that by the end of the year the Union will also be able to pro- vide this, and other useful infor- mation, to members on a USB memory stick so they can be eas- ily accessed at sea.


The report itself also acts as a


resource for members. It contains a number of case studies which examine how seafarers have become imprisoned for accidents, often despite them being outside their control. It contains two arti- cles from lawyers on the way in which maritime incidents are investigated and prosecuted, and also has a large section devoted to dealing with the aftermath of an accident and how members can best protect their rights whilst also undertaking their responsibilities. ‘Accidents happen in every


industry, but no other industry treats its workers like criminals when they do, with the implica- tion that seafarers somehow deliberately set out to cause colli- sions, injuries or spillages,’ added Mr Dickinson. ‘More legislation is being


unveiled all the time, such as the new Bribery Act in the UK, which threatens seafarers with criminal action for simply carrying out their jobs and it is feared that more seafarers than ever are turn- ing away from the industry as a result.’ Over 90% of respondents to


the survey stated that they were concerned about the increase of criminalisation in the industry


and 66% said it impacted on their feelings about working at sea. The report argues that the fear


of criminalisation is a big factor, as only 17% had ever actually been directly involved in legal action. The report also highlights the


lack of information that seafarers are typically given when they head out to foreign ports, which will often operate laws which can heavily impact on ship opera- tions.


The most common incidents


which have resulted in criminal proceedings being brought against a seafarer include: zcollisions with other ships zaccidental pollution or spills zthe death or injury of a crew member or passenger ‘The results of this survey


show first-hand what is happen- ing in the industry, it confirms that our members are increas- ingly fearful of being prosecuted and are questioning their future in the industry as a result,’ con- cluded Mr Dickinson. gCopies of the criminalisation report can be requested by email to centralservices@nautilusint.org, downloaded from www.nau- tilusint.org or requested by post via the cover sheet included with your copy of the Telegraph.


UK equality law comes in FNautilus has welcomed the long-awaited introduction of regulations to outlaw pay


discrimination for foreign seafarers on UK- flagged ships. The new rules — set out in the Equality


Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011 —came into effect from 1 August and close the loophole under section 9 of the Race Relations Act 1976 which allowed differential pay rates for seafarers recruited abroad.


The new regulations prohibit differential pay


rates among EU nationals on UK-registered ships trading wholly or partly in UK territorial waters.


They will also apply to seafarers from other


designated states that have agreements with the EU, but employers will still be able to pay lower rates to seafarers resident in countries outside the European Economic Area. Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson


commented: ‘We are pleased the UK law has been brought into line with the rest of Europe and that the embarrassment of the European Commission fining the UK has therefore been avoided.’ Shipowners had strongly opposed the new


regulations and the Chamber of Shipping had warned that some companies may flag out as a


result. But Mr Dickinson said Nautilus has repeated its offer to work closely with UK-flag operators to ensure simple and effective compliance. ‘The worry that the rest of Europe has not applied the principle of equal treatment with the veracity now being required of the UK is also being pursued via European institutions,’ he added, ‘although we know for sure that all EEA nationals on NL ships receive Dutch pay and conditions.’ RMT national secretary Steve Todd


commented: ‘We know that the shipping companies have run a hostile campaign against


these regulations and we will now be monitoring the position very closely to ensure that they are fully and comprehensively enforced across the industry. ‘This isn’t a case of doing the bare minimum


required,’ he added, ‘ it’s a case of doing what’s right to eliminate the stain of discrimination on UK flagged ships.’ The regulations also extend other provisions


of the 2010 Equality Act to UK-flagged ships, including protection from discrimination because of such factors as age, sex and sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, and race, religion or belief.


U-turn on tonnage tax rules?


FThe UK government is set to do a U-turn on proposals to


introduce stricter rules on qualification for the tonnage tax scheme, an accountancy firm claimed last month. The London-based company


Moore Stephens said it had learned that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has agreed to reconsider its move to unilaterally reinterpret the tests used to determine tonnage tax eligibility. Shipowners had expressed


concern that the changes to the rules governing the strategic and commercial management of relevant ships could lead to some companies losing their entitlement to the tonnage tax concessions. Moore Stephens partner Sue Bill


said: ‘HMRC’s reinterpretation of the rules created a lack of certainty and sent completely the wrong signals to international shipowners who had relocated to the UK. ‘It would therefore be excellent


Pictured above at their ‘passing-out’ ceremony at Southampton Guildhall are the 150 deck, engineer and electrotechnical officer cadets who graduated from Southampton Solent University’s Warsash Maritime Academy this summer. The incorrect picture was supplied to accompany the article in last month’s Telegraph.


news if HMRC decides to consider the matter afresh, and to consult fully with the shipping industry. This would be seen as an indication that the government means to continue to act fairly and reasonably.’


MAIB looks into causes of boxship grounding


HThe UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch is


looking into the causes of an incident last month in which a flag of convenience containership ran aground off the coast of Cornwall. The 7,852gt Karin Schepers ended up on a beach near St Just, not far from the Pendeen lighthouse, last month while on passage from Cork to Rotterdam. The Antigua & Barbuda-flagged


vessel managed to float off under its own power on a rising spring tide and proceeded on its voyage. The 13 crew members were uninjured and there was no pollution. Falmouth Coastguard had


spotted on its Automatic Identification System that the ship was not using the traffic separation


scheme correctly, but attempts to call the vessel proved unsuccessful and it failed to respond to warning messages. Steve Huxley, from the Maritime


& Coastguard Agency, commented: ‘It’s extremely lucky the vessel managed to get off the sand very quickly. The ship was doing 17 or 18 knots before it went aground but sent out no Mayday call. At this stage we’re not sure why the ship ran aground.’ The German-owned Karin


Schepers ran aground in Denmark in March 2009, and an investigation by the Danish authorities concluded that the chief officer —who was alone on the bridge — had fallen asleep while over the alcohol limit. Pictures: RNLI


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