Not a morsel of remorse shown for their heinous acts
Late September, a Filipino manning agent was under investigations for mistreating and underpaying their crew. The findings are now concluded and the company made its grand entrance into the International Transport Workers Federation’s (ITF) Hall of Shame.
Amplified notoriety after new allegations
Reports of seafarer mistreatment surfaced last September and prompted the ITF to investigate. The Federation did not hesitate to name Able Maritime Seafarers Inc, for the latter’s failure to protect crew from being exploited. Additionally, Able Maritime Seafarers did not offer any assistance for repatriation. These acts came to light after ITF collaborated with the Philippines Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), which regulates manning agencies in the country to find out what transpired.
Commenting on the incident, Steve Trowsdale, ITF’s Inspectorate Coordinator said, “Since we raised the plight of seafarers placed in jobs by Able Maritime in Fiji, Malta and on Chinese-flagged fishing boats in the Indian Ocean, the families of more than 30 other seafarers have been in touch. They wanted to know what has happened to the salaries that Able Maritime owed, as well as their loved ones’ well-being. The owed wages in some cases amounted to more than seven months.”
The ITF operates a directory of manning agencies as part of its ITFShipBeSure.org website. This initiative notifies seafarers to avoid using the agency (by marking it red) when seeking work. It also serves as a warning to ship operators and regulators internationally. Regulators would be prompted to commence their own suspension investigations into companies they register.
ITF said the crewing agent failed to respond to official enquiries about the diabolical pay and terrible conditions of seafarers the company placed in work. Trowsdale added, “We have not taken this step lightly. The weight of the evidence against Able Maritime was overwhelming, and the agency refused to engage in any dialogue about how it might right the sufferings caused by placing seafarers in poorly paid and often dangerous work conditions.”
Crewing Online News Team
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