Call for investigations into fatalities

Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI) has pointed out that the failure to treat seafarers as keyworkers during the COVID-19 pandemic is having devastating effects on individuals, who are now at risk of being caught in a “perfect storm of exhaustion” from extended employment agreements, increasing numbers of accidents, maritime casualties, and unfair criminal investigations.

“The response to this seems to be to blame the seafarer,” said Deirdre Fitzpatrick, executive director of SRI. “The spotlight should be on how the industry responds to these recent casualties. Has COVID-19 played a part in these situations? Will there be fair investigations – as mandatorily required under the IMO Code for Safety Investigations – so lessons can be learned to prevent further tragic loss of seafarers’ lives and damage to the marine environment?”

Panamanian-registered bulk carrier Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef south of Mauritius in July, spilling an estimated 1000t of oil in the following weeks. Two crew members of the tugboat involved in the oil spill clean-up died.

This month, Panamanian-registered Gulf Livestock 1 was lost with around 40 crew members and nearly 6,000 cattle in Typhoon Maysak, while a fire onboard Panamanian-registered oil tanker New Diamond saw the death of one crew member, with another injured.

By Rebecca Jeffrey