Study finds deterioration in accommodation standards on newer ships

Cardiff-based Seafarers International Research Centre (SIRC) has just published a study on accommodation on cargo ships. The design of a ship critically impacts the working lives of seafarers in a number of ways, it says, such as the quality of rest, the level of restoration mariners can achieve in non-working hours and their mental well-being. Unfortunately, this is an area that is not on anybody’s radar in the industry, and a high degree of variability exists across ships. 

Although one would expect to find that newer ships have better facilities, the study found deterioration in vessel standards in recent years- the newest vessels (built in the last five years) “generally provided poorer facilities/amenities/accommodation spaces than ships aged five to nine years old. The SIRC study, Seafarer Accommodation on Contemporary Cargo Ships, was funded by Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust, an independent charity. 

As part of the study, 1533 serving seafarers completed SIRC questionnaires in English, Tagalog and Mandarin; the average age of the mariners was 33 years and two per cent of the respondents were women. Breakup by nationality: 39 per cent were Filipinos, 32 per cent Chinese, 15 per cent Indian and 12 per cent British, amongst others. Twenty-four per cent of these were senior officers, 42 per cent junior officers and 34 per cent ratings. Feedback was sought from all types of vessels, including bulk carriers, container ships, tankers and passenger ships- the average GRT was around 40,000 and average age of ship ten years. A third of these ships were built in Japan, about a quarter in China and about a seventh in South Korea. 

About one in every seven seamen share cabins, the study showed, and nearly a quarter shared bathroom facilities. Almost a third of seafarers were dissatisfied with the size of their cabins and just over a third were unhappy with the amount of storage space available there. There were complaints that the crew had no control over their living environment- heat, light, noise and vibration. About a fifth of the respondents said that there was insufficient food on board, or poor to very poor quality food. A third felt that the food they were fed was unhealthy. 

Alarmingly, 72 per cent of the seafarers canvassed reported work-related stress, 61 per cent complained of lack of recreational facilities, 45 per cent lack of space, 43 per cent lack of career progression, 42 per cent lack of training, 38 per cent job insecurity, 33 per cent lack of privacy, 22 per cent bullying and harassment and 19 per cent discrimination. 

Sadly, just 12 per cent of the respondents reported free and unlimited Internet access availability on board, and a staggering 61 per cent reported that they had no Internet access available to them at all. All the rest said they were subject to time restricted access or charges or both- the average hourly charge for email access averaged about $11.89, SIRC says, which meant that on a nine-month contract, a seafarer has to cough up $3,210.30 if email is used for one hour per day. 

Perhaps that is why almost all seafarers (97 per cent) carried their own mobile phones, even though coverage was available for approximately half of every month. Only 3 per cent said they had excess to telephone on the ship; the rest quoted restrictions because they needed the Captain’s permission (15 per cent), financial charges (53 per cent, the average hourly cost of the ship’s phone being $43.12) and lack of time.

Among other important findings of the SIRC study was widespread dissatisfaction when it came to job security and restrictions on shore leave- SIRC says that nearly 60 per cent of the respondents had spent just one week or less in port in the previous two months. And, unsurprisingly again, Filipino seafarers seemed to be most positive about their experience on board and the Chinese the most dissatisfied. Indian’s are somewhere in the middle. 

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“Not the way to behave with employees”- Shipping Minister warns shipowners in Chennai.

In the aftermath of the ‘Pratibha Cauvery incident,’ the spotlight seems to be focused- even if temporarily- on substandard ships and shipowners. Shipping Minister GK Vasan has now threatened action against those that do not pay wages to their crew on time. Disclosing that the central government would take steps- through the Directorate General of Shipping- in this regard, Vasan told reporters in Chennai that it was ‘unfortunate’ that seafarers were not paid salaries for months.

When reporters asked the Minister pointedly about the non-payment of salaries to the crew of Pratibha Cauvery and Pratibha Warna detained in Chennai, Vasan said, "See, there are thousands of ships in the country. We are taking up the cases which are coming to us. We are very strict in that. This is not the way (companies) should behave with their employees."

The Minister was on an official trip to Chennai, during which he took stock of the Cauvery salvage operation and also took time to visit the Indian Maritime University (IMU) on the fourth university day celebrations. Addressing trainees at that institution, he said, “Over the last six years, our maritime professionals have developed great capabilities for handling technologically advanced or technologically difficult ships. This has led to a very high demand for our marine engineers though we train and educate more than 3,000 marine engineers every year.”

Vasan compared the situation in the maritime sector with that in IT. “It has been proved that only those countries which invest well in research and development move ahead of others. The research in the maritime sector, which is at its nascent stage, will be developed by the university in various disciplines with the aim of marching ahead in this sector. Indian IT industry underwent a major revolution in the supply of manpower for global needs. Similar opportunities and possibilities exist now for India in the maritime sector. This trend will not only enhance the social and economic status in the maritime States but also greatly contribute to the country’s economy,” he told the assembly.

Earlier, Vasan had revealed to reporters that he had formally asked IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu to explore the possibility of setting up a regional branch of Malmo based World Maritime University (WMU) in India, and for the need for closer cooperation between IMU, WMU and the International Maritime Legal Institute, Malta. "Despite the recession, there has been a growth of maritime trade in India and institutes like IMU can bridge the gap between supply and demand of sailors and merchant engineers," Vasan said.

The Minister presented a cheque of 50,000 rupees each to five fishermen who had risked their lives in saving some of the Cauvery crew after she grounded. Of the many unanswered questions that were raised after that incident, Vasan said that the DG Shipping inquiry was underway and would be completed in a month. "Whatever action required to be taken by the Ministry, it will be taken," he said. There have been reports that the seaworthiness certificate of the vessel had expired on October 1; Vasan said that the DGS was looking into it.

"Whenever a complaint is received to the ministry, I am taking it up very seriously to the concerned company through the Director General Shipping and we see to it that there is no injustice to seafarers," he said.

Senior Indian officer fined for fraudulent sea-service documents in UK

Indian national Boorzeen Murzban Dantra has been fined a total of £7,603.21 including costs by a Southampton court for charges relating to breaches of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 and the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981. Dantra pleaded guilty to producing fake discharge and watchkeeping certificates that claimed he had served for 19 months on two anchor-handling vessels; he used these to support his application for the Orals Examination for a Masters Certificate of Competency (CoC). This was accepted and the appropriate documentation was issued. 

This happened in January last year. However, the Enforcement Unit of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) discovered in October 2011 that Dantra's documents were forged; Dantra had instead worked on an Offshore Floating Storage Unit (FSO), and had actually worked on one anchor handling vessel, not two. His documents were found fraudulent by the MCA. Moreover, his sea time on the FSO did not meet eligibility requirements for a Masters CoC.

"This is a worrying offence as lots of us travel by sea, we expect properly qualified Masters to be in charge,” the chairman of the Southampton court bench commented at the hearing. 

MCA's Roger Towner was severely critical of Dantra as well. “A Master's Certificate of Competency places great trust and responsibility on the holder. His (Dantra's) attempt to defraud the certificate structure devalues the certificate that others have worked hard to achieve,” he said, adding that Dantra, as Master, would have potentially placed his vessel, his fellow seafarers and the public at risk with the fraud.

National Shipping Board moots waiver of income tax for seamen on Indian ships

In response to the longstanding demand that Indian seafarers working in domestic shipping be treated at par with their colleagues working in foreign companies, the National Shipping Board (NSB) will recommend a waiver of income tax on their salaries. In other developments, there have been suggestions at the NSB meeting that, given the maritime security environment around the country, all major and minor ports be brought under the control of Union Government. The National Shipping Board is a permanent statutory body established under Section 4 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1958.

The issue of taxation was just one of many on the agenda of its 117th meeting of the NSB in Kochi last week. In this connection, Director General of Shipping S B Agnihotri will coordinate with the government so that the Finance Ministry can put the taxation proposal on the table in the next Budget. The recommendation, if accepted, will profit almost 50,000 Indian seafarers on Indian flagships who pay income tax, often at the highest slab rates, while those working on foreign flags get NRI status- and tax free salaries- if they sail for six months or more in a year. 

This anomaly has long been a bone of contention with Indian companies who have claimed, with some justification, that the best seafarers leave the country to sail abroad mainly because they want to avoid high taxation at home. This results in a drain of qualified and experienced seafarers from the country, they say.

The National Shipping Board also wants to expand the Marine Mercantile Department to cater to new ports. "We have to augment the strength of the Directorate of Shipping as there is a shortage of manpower. Moreover, we have to expand as the number of ports and the number of ships coming to the country is increasing," the DGS said after the Kochi meeting. 

With piracy and terrorism threats continuing to plague the long and porous Indian coastline, some NSB members feel that the present administrative arrangement- where control of major ports is with the Union Government and minor ports are controlled by State Governments- is not good enough. NSB Member R. Rajamohan is one of them; he is believed to have mooted the idea of central control, also suggesting that the Colachel Port be developed as a container port given its strategic location close to major shipping routes.

The issue of armed private security guards on Indian merchant ships is believed to have also been discussed at the NSB Kochi meeting that was also attended by Union Shipping Secretary K. Mohandas, Members of Parliament K. V. P. Ramachadra Rao and Mr K. B. Shanappa, Chairman of the NSB Capt P. V. K. Mohan and Shipping Corporation of India's Chairman and Managing Director S. Hajara. 

Another member, Sandeep Chandra, said that the Indian Navy should be given greater powers to tackle piracy, so that pirates would not assume that force would not be used against them. The NSB has said that India should send a 'strong message against maritime piracy', especially in the Gulf of Aden. 

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“Prisoner in my own country”

March Foreign seafarers have been subject to draconian shore leave regulations in many countries ever since terrorism hit shores worldwide; nations have often summarily and arbitrarily stopped shore leaves for crews with scant regard to their basic human rights or a thought towards the actual usefulness of the high-handed ban when it came to fighting terrorism. Few outside the industry know, however, that Indian seafarers have been subject to similar prejudicial restrictions on shore leave in their own country for quite some time- a truly ridiculous state of affairs. Finally, it appears that at least one mariner has had enough.


Last month, Capt. Vipan Kumar, the Captain of the M.V. Ocean Amethyst in Mumbai P&V anchorage, was forced to jump the hoop every day for the month that his ship was at anchor. Any shore leave for the ship’s crew was restricted to the hours between 8am to 8pm, and only after an elaborate operation: Capt Kumar would have to send details of crew, along with two passport size photographs, to the agents, after which immigration would come to the pier to arrange landing permits valid until 8pm.


Capt. Kumar has now written to the Deputy Director General of Shipping (Seamen’s Welfare), pointing out that Indian crew is being denied their right to shore leave ‘under the garb of an increased (terrorist) threat.’ He has quite rightly said, in the letter, a copy of which has been sent to the MUI, that the authorities should increase security measures rather than resorting to ‘shortcuts and unlawful measures’ to deny ship’s crew basic rights. The letter is courteous, but Capt. Kumar’s angst is palpable; “Here I became a prisoner in my own country,” he says.

Indian seafarers will tell you, accompanied usually by some disgust, that the situation in Mumbai is hardly unusual. Restrictions on shore leave for Indians are commonplace, and passes are issued daily, usually until sunset, or 2100 hrs, at many ports. Given that short port stays, overworked crews and short manned vessels are the norm, a denial of shore leave for a few hours that a crewmember may get off is almost cruel. Most crew cannot step ashore before seven in the evening and after the day’s work is done; with these harsh rules, they may get an hour ashore if they are lucky. Some have complained that they cannot even visit their families or friends in homeports.

This being India, there are other issues with the present system across the country. In some ports it is almost lunchtime before the day’s passes are issued; this curtails a seafarer’s liberty further. Ridiculously, advance clearance for medical or other emergencies is sometimes sought. Some ports restrict travel to within a short distance from the port. Some ask that shore passes be surrendered 24 hours before sailing, an equally nonsensical rule in the era of quick vessel turnarounds. And at least one port is thought not to issue shore passes at all. All this for Indians; foreigners have it much worse.

Given this state of affairs, Capt. Vipan Kumar’s missive is perhaps long overdue; we hope it will result in some equally overdue soul searching in regulatory shipping circles. As a senior Master says, “We were proud to be called the ‘second line of defence’ when we came out to sea. It now appears that we are the second rung of criminals.”
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