London. UK. The Lloyds List article 'Maersk suspends crew after rape allegation involving cadet' has rightly challenged the current narrative and stigmas around reporting sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and intimidation of young seafarers set against a background of apparent industry indifference reflecting a collective malaise on the topic.
NGO Shipbreaking Platform reports record-breaking number of fatalities on the beach of Chattogram, Bangladesh.
London. UK. / Constanza, Romania. The stranded Panamanian flagged MV ALI BEY (IMO 9070515) crew who have been abandoned and detained alongside Constanza port in Romania since 30 November 2020 without wage payment and suffering challenging conditions onboard have provided Human Rights at Sea with updated video testimony as to their position which amounts to a bleak outlook.
London. UK. / Auckland. New Zealand. At 4 am on June 20 2011, the entire Indonesian crew (32) walked off the Oyang 75 when it berthed in Port Lyttleton, Christchurch. This was the first time, anywhere in the world, an entire crew had walked off a South Korean factory trawler. They had been fishing at sea for only five weeks, on its first outing in New Zealand waters, yet already the crew had had enough of the abuses they had suffered by Korean officers within that short time period.
London. UK. The geo-political case of the hijacking in July 2020 of the GULF SKY from UAE waters to Iran with 28 Indian crew has been further investigated by the BBC in a long-read article now available on-line.
London. UK. The UK-based charitable NGO Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) has called upon the IMO to increase its level of transparency and factual detail in the public reporting of cases reflecting human and labour rights abuse of seafarers.
London. UK. Following an incident onboard a Liberian flagged container vessel entering UK territorial waters in February 2021 in which a male engineering cadet was attacked by a fellow crew member thereby putting him in fear for his safety, Human Rights at Sea today publishes an Insight Briefing Note on the key issue of safeguarding cadets’ safety, health and well-being.
London. UK. The Master of the MV Ali Bey (IMO 9070515) has provided a voluntary video testimony to Human Rights at Sea outlining the privations that he and the remaining three Syrian crew members continue to suffer since their vessel was arrested and abandoned by its owner in Constanza Port, Romania, in November 2020 with earned wages owed prior to that date stated as totalling USD $175,000.
London. UK. The UK-based NGO, Safer Waves, has recently been established to provide a route to support for seafarers who have suffered incidents of sexual violence or gender discrimination at sea as a new independent counselling service for victims of egregious human rights abuse. Funded through UK-based maritime funder, The Seafarers' Charity, its email service is now open to provide access to trained counsellors.
Press Release 11 July 2021 “…please hear us and rescue us from this hell.” London. UK. In the last week, Human Rights at Sea has received multiple messages from seafarers requesting urgent assistance as the crew change crisis and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to bite deep in the 1.6-1.7 million strong seafarer community....
On 18 May 2021, the Taiwan High Court Kaohsiung Branch Court (臺灣高等法院高雄分院) affirmed the conviction of the Chinese-national Wang Fengyu (汪峰裕) to 26 years in prison on four counts of homicide by the court of first instance, the Taiwan Kaohsiung District Court (台灣高雄地方法院), on 29 January 2021.
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...
