London, UK. The 13th episode of the Even Keel podcast produced by Abhijith Balakrishnan, a seafarer and Marine Superintendent with Scorpio India, engages Human Rights at Sea through Joanne Rawley and David Hammond in discussing key issues currently affecting seafarers and driving the work of the charity.
London, UK. On Saturday, 17 April, representatives from the International IMO and Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) joined BBC Radio Scotland's national morning programme to discuss the ongoing issue and rising cases of abandoned seafarers globally. Mr. Frederick Kenny, Director of the IMO Legal Affairs and External Relations Division, and David Hammond, CEO, HRAS answered searching questions with the aim of bringing increased understanding to the Scottish audience.
London, UK. Human Rights at Sea has been contacted by the 19 abandoned crew of the Bulk Carrier MV AIZDIHAR (IMO 8906846) flagged to Tanzania anchored of Bander Abbas, Iran, (27°06'32.8"N 56°17'47.6"E) who report that they are rapidly running out of food, water and fuel and are urgently requesting support in their ordeal.
Editorial 12 April 2021 London. UK. As The Guardian’s reporter, George Monboit headlined in his April 7th article review of the new Netflix Seaspiracy documentary. ‘The film gets some things wrong, but it exposes the grim ecological destruction of the Earth’s oceans‘. As important as ocean conservation is for the future of humanity, so is the...
London. UK. HRAS Commentary. Early last week, the Office of Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, published 'A distress call for human rights', a comprehensive follow-up to the 2019 recommendations drafted in 'Lives saved. Rights protected. Bridging the protection gap for refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean'. Human Rights at Sea has reviewed and today, highlights its recommendations in support.
London. UK. An update to the HRAS Press Release of 30 August 2020 concerning the 2014 footage of the murder of persons at sea off Somalia first identified through mobile phone footage.
London, UK. / Suva, Fiji. Three Filipino crewmen have been left stranded in Fiji by their employers and manning agency. The seafarers have found themselves with few options and remain in limbo having contacted affiliated humanitarian support workers to Human Rights at Sea and provided firsthand testimony.
London. UK. On Saturday 13 February 2021 at 04:48, Human Rights at Sea received a direct call for assistance from an engine cadet who had been seriously assaulted by a senior crew member on a container ship en-route to the Port of London. The male cadet was frightened, he did not know where to turn and was in fear of his life.
London, UK. Human Rights at Sea has instructed 9 Bedford Row Chambers, London, to support the ongoing review of the case of Eritara Aatii Kaierua, the Kiribati fisheries observer who was found dead onboard the Taiwanese-flagged vessel WIN FAR 636, in March of this year while fishing in PNG waters.
London, UK. Human Rights at Sea today issues two new major international peer-reviewed reports focusing on Fisheries Observer safety, security and well-being in the Western and Central Pacific region, including for Observers employed by Commonwealth States through Regional Fisheries Management Organisations.
Joint Press Release Update to MT Gulf Sky Crew Case 21 October 2020 “Sir, it is very painful experience for me which [has been] never seen before in my life.” ‘The consequences of not being able to return to sea to work and earn a wage are profound on both the crew, and their...
London. UK. Increasing numbers of cases of human and labour rights abuse towards Indonesian fishers on foreign flagged vessels are coming to light. Most recently, international NGOs, including Human Rights at Sea, have been contacted with evidence highlighting the fishers' plight, the poor working conditions in which they are forced to work and allegations of ill-treatment resulting in deaths at sea.
London. UK. Former Master of the MV Tomini Destiny, Captain Rajnish Samuel Shah, has authorised the release by Human Rights at Sea of his personal testimony in defence of his command decisions made during the COVID-19 pandemic for the protection the health, safety and security of his crew during unloading operations off the Port of Chittagong, Bangladesh in late March 2020.
London. UK. Taiwanese Coastguard authorities have arrested a 43 year old Chinese fishing vessel Master of the Seychelles-flagged Indian Star reported as being named 'Wang' who is suspected of ordering the 2014 reported murders of four men at sea.
People move. Migration has always been a feature of the human condition and it will always be so. We cannot stop it and efforts to stem it will, in the long run, prove futile. Global population has ballooned in recent years and travel from region to region has increased. More and more people are on the move. Their motives for leaving their homes and seeking lives elsewhere are numerous, but two in particular are relevant to the ‘crisis’ that has developed in recent weeks in the English Channel.
