GLAD TIDINGS No. 11 PART B

We know that many serious incidents that happen at sea are caused by sleep deprivation and fatigue. Perhaps the most publicised in recent times was the Shen Neng 1 coal ship, running aground on the Great Barrier Reef off Gladstone. Our MTS Gladstone people looked after the much-maligned crew. On that occasion the Chief Officer responsible for the navigation of the ship had managed only a few hours sleep in 48 hours due to heavy work commitments when the ship was loading at Gladstone port. The hapless CO is currently serving a two-year sentence in a Brisbane prison. It is worth noting that an ITF funded study has revealed some alarming facts regarding seafarers’ fatigue- - One in four seafarers said they had fallen asleep on watch - Almost 50% reported working weeks of 85 hours or more

Life at sea and fatigue

- Half said that their working hours had increased over the past ten years - Nearly half surveyed considered their working hours presented a danger to their personal safety - Some 37% said sometimes their working hours posed a danger to the safe operations of their ship - At times false records are being kept to conceal the actual hours seafarers work. We hope that the MLC will make life at sea considerably better for the seafarer. We also hope that Regulation 4.4 and Guidelines B4.4.2 will ensure that they get decent shore leave so that we get the opportunity to welcome and support them in the short time available before the ship sails to a foreign port.

In this edition:

• Life at sea and fatigue • Meeting with Minister Anthony Albanese in Sydney • Meeting with AMSA and DEEWR • Merchant seafarers – the Good Samaritans of the oceans • AMSA Serious Accident Report • No ITF-Trust funding

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GLAD TIDINGS 2012 No. 11 Part B

Council members Dennis Claughton, Dave Ellis and myself were fortunate to be invited to a meeting with Minister Anthony Albanese a few months ago to discuss the implementation of the MLC, and the role our organisation might play in that landmark convention. The Minister gave us a very good hearing and notably was very appreciative of the charitable work that we have carried out for over 150 year.

Obviously he was well aware of the how hard life at sea is and the critical importance of the MLC to help seafarers improve their working and living conditions. We are maintaining contact with the Minister’s office as we continue to explore all possibilities that may lead to outcomes both beneficial to our organisation’s ongoing work and the wellbeing of visiting seafarers generally.

GLAD TIDINGS 2012 No. 11 Part B

AMSA Serious Accident Report

Please remember to fill in and forward to the editor the Serious Incident Report form in the event of your centre having to handle such an incident. Each month a copy of these incident reports are sent to AMSA. The exercise is important as it helps the government better understand the scope and importance of our work- and in turn helps support our advocacy efforts for greater recognition and assistance from the government.

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Meeting with Minister Anthony Albanese in Sydney

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A few weeks back the editor met with Greens’ Senators Christine Milne and Rachel Siewert at Parliament House, Canberra. The Leader of the Greens and WA Senator Siewert kindly took time out from their hectic schedules to explore ways in which they might be able to support the work carried out by MTS particularly in the context of the welfare provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention. The editor was able to explain the nature and importance of our work around the Australian coastline and waterways. It was good to hear

that Senator Siewert has visited our Fremantle centre on a number of occasions; and that Senator Milne would consider the appropriate way forward to encourage and support the Government in fully implementing all provisions of the MLC- particularly those humanitarian provisions guaranteeing the safety and well being of seafarers both at sea and on shore. The editor was very encouraged by the meeting and is most grateful for the warm welcome he received.

Meeting with the Australian Greens in Canberra

Meeting with AMSA and DEEWR

Capt. Dave Ellis our MTS Brisbane chair has also been instrumental in arranging meetings with a number of Government representatives from Australian Maritime Welfare Authority (AMSA), Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and Department of Infrastructure & Transport. Both the editor and Dave have attended these

meetings advocating as strongly as possible for the rights of seafarers to have access to both onboard and onshore welfare services, and underlining the importance of welfare practitioners being partially funded by Government annually to carry out these essential services at a level recognised as best practice.

No ITF-Trust funding

As reported to all centres a few months ago the ITF Trust has announced that it will not be making any funding grants for the remainder of this year. And it seems that this may continue into the next year. It goes without saying that some centres will experience greater hardship without this source of funding, particularly those that are

trying to maintain the running of vehicles that are aging, needing repair and no longer fit for purpose. At this stage we do not know why the funding has dried up. When further news is to hand we shall pass it on.

GLAD TIDINGS 2012 No. 11 Part B

Merchant seafarers - the Good Samaritans of the oceans

Many will recall the tragic capsizing of a boat carrying over 200 refugees in the Indian Ocean, on 21 June last. A number of merchant ships on route to Australian ports responded to the distress call to attempt rescue of the drowning men, women and children. The crews of these ships were heroic in their attempts to locate and save victims from the heavy seas- risking their own safety and lives. Crews from two of these ships, the Cape Oceania and the WSA Dragon a few days after rescuing 12 drowning refugees, docked at Esperance. Fortunately for the traumatised crew members, our MTS Esperance ship visitor Fred Lochowicz was there to greet them. Fred himself spent many years at sea and well understood the situation. He

was able to help the mostly young Chinese seafarers with police interviews, language interpretation challenges, some basic counselling and some shopping and sightseeing activities to help the seafarers normalise. Fred particularly felt for those crewmen who were placed in a situation where in the rescue attempt they could only save some, not all, from drowning- and were forced to decide which ones, a shocking situation indeed. We acknowledge the bravery of these seafarers and thank them for responding to a call well beyond their seafaring duties. Let’s hope that they are nominated for appropriate awards in due course by the shipping industry.

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