Tag Archives: MLC 2006

MLC 2006: Will it Drive Crew On Board Comms?

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MLC 2006: Will it Drive Crew On Board

Well, I sure as hell hope so! I think its really pretty disgusting how some operators choose to treat their crews. The issue of communications is not even the biggest issue a lot of times. Sometimes, they can’t even get decent room and board, or the pay they’ve worked HARD to earn.

I’ve been very lucky that the communications issue has been my biggest gripe lately (as far as conditions on board go). 😉 Personally, I will never again take a job where I don’t have internet access. The last time I did, my entire life at home was totally screwed up for months! Yeah, we all used to go to sea for months at a time, stand in line for hours at the telephone office, etc. But that was long before the internet was invented.

No one at home will put up with us being out of touch for so long any more. At home, everyone has instant and constant communication and they just won’t accept it that we don’t have the same access when we’re at sea.

You think its fun to have your house ruined because you couldn’t pay the bills? Maybe your pipes freeze and burst because they shut off the heat? Or maybe it’s just your credit that’s totally screwed since you’re 4-5 months behind on all the bills and not even any attempt to contact them since you can’t get ashore to make phone calls. No one will accept the excuse that we are at sea any more and most of us just don’t have the extra money to pay our bills for months in advance when we go to sea.

I HOPE the MLC 2006 will help us get some better treatment from our employers. I have my doubts, they usually find ways to keep from doing things they really don’t want to do. We’ll all just have to wait and see if they do the right thing this time, or if it’s just going to be business as usual.

 

MLC 2006 | Seafarers’ Bill of Rights Enters into Force | gCaptain ⚓

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MLC 2006 | Seafarers’ Bill of Rights Enters into Force | gCaptain ⚓ Maritime & Offshore News.

I really hope this helps, but I have my doubts. Notice how the seafarers have been punished worse than anyone after 9-11. Because of stupid TWIC rules, they have stolen away the RIGHTS we have always had for hundreds of years! Most ports in the USA now refuse to allow seafarers access to shore leave using excuses such as that we are security threats! If they do ‘allow’ us to transit through their facilities, they charge outrageous fees. No foreign seafarer can afford to pay to get out the gate, it is really sickening how these people (I’m one) are treated every day.

Another pet peeve of mine is the ongoing exploitation by crewing agents both here in the USA and in most other countries. It has been illegal by both US and international law to charge a seaman for a job, yet there are still plenty of companies that do that here (I have dealt with a few myself over the years) and especially virulent overseas. Why can’t they charge the hiring companies the fees? They are the ones who HAVE the money! Seafarers are not known to be rolling in the dough. No, but we are known to be desperate to go back to work and so they continue to take advantage of us instead of doing the RIGHT thing and going to get paid by the company they provide the seafarers to.

Oh yeah, then there’s the issue of refusing to provide a decent atmosphere on board the vessel, undermanned, under provisioned, just plain unsanitary and unsafe ships, and we all just put up with all that and do our best to do our jobs. Yeah, I HOPE the MLC 2006 helps the situation but since the ones in the past didn’t do a whole lot, the companies always found ways around, I think they will manage to find ways around this one to and all us seafarers will still be stuck in the same old boat (literally).