PLIGHT OF INDIAN SEAFARERS AT TIMES OF COVID-19; "LET THE VOYAGE OF LIFE SAIL"

INTRODUCTION:

          Throughout, the course of history, virus outbreaks have created havoc on humanity, sometimes even changed the course of history. It would be apt to state that epidemics are structurally comparable events wherever they take place across the globe. The breakout of Covid-19 creates a sense of “déjà vu” with numerous historical epidemic outbreaks transpired in the sheets of history such as The Great Plague of London [1665-1666] and Spanish flu [1918- 1920] wherein approximately 500 million people were affected. As the outbreak of Corona Virus (Covid-19) has put almost the entire world at a standstill position, it is imperative to analyze the impact of this epidemic on Maritime Industries, especially, in relation to seafarers who are required to be put on board of savors of the mankind, lining it with other respective state emergency health services as they belong to the group of individuals who set fortune on civil society for them to receive essential commodities and medical equipment through a sea route.

PLIGHTS TO NARRATE:

           This brings us to a crucially relevant sphere of concern i.e. predicaments faced by the class of seamen, wherein it is apposite to state that it had been revealed by one of the reports published by a United Kingdome (U.K.) based organization known as Human Rights at Sea, that many seafarers possess an appalling and gloomy tale to narrate as they are cramped to stay within the premises of a vessel sailing or anchored in the sea, despite their employment Agreement coming to an end. The seafarers are left with no option but to confine their lives to a vessel that has no permission to reach ashore and depot them as most of the Governmental Authorities have prohibited their entries to their territorial waters. Moreover, there exists another section of seafarers whose Employment Service Contract period has technically not triggered as it stipulates on the time when he/she shall boards the vessel which is not possible due to existing pandemic, therefore, they have been forced to confine themselves either at a hotel or any other place of stay at their own economical standing in a foreign land with very little or no assistance from their employers- Shipping Company and concerned Consulate General. 

It is worth mentioning here that the community of active 'Indian Seafarers' in the Global Maritime Industry at present is numbered around 40,000 approximately who extensively plays the role of vertebrae which has been overlooked to some extent during these hard times by their respective Shipping Companies coupled with Governmental Authorities in terms of non-payment of wages, contract extension without informed consent, lack of medical facility, etc. Upon Contacting one of the Seafarer who chose to speak over a condition of anonymity and currently sailing near the United States of America, the following facts were revealed;

Firstly, there are several issues concerning seamen on board, such as, many seafarers whose Employment Contracts are terminated are being forced to stay on the vessel with no assurance of wages. Moreover, the fact that these seafarers have been sailing for a long period has caused them massive psychological and physical health impacts, furthermore, being burdened with responsibility towards their families due to the non-payment of wages coupled with the fact of being neglected. The Government Authorities as also their employers have turned their faces away from these seamen leaving them with no viable option at the time of need than to stay confined in their respective place.

Secondly, he further stated that his vessel has been continuously sailing and no crew change has taken place since February which has apparently saved the ship-owners millions of dollars per annum (the said sum amount was the cost of crew change globally). Furthermore, as the Shipping Companies has saved a large sum of money, the same could have been allocated for the welfare activities such as providing protection kit, sanitizers and other sanitization equipment coupled with immediate financial assistance to stranded seafarers and their respective families. However, the Companies have failed to take any such step so far which spreads a wave of disappointment and sense of worry amongst the concerned.

LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK CONCERNING SEAFARERS:

           Let's analyze the statutory framework available at the disposal of seafarer which ensures and reinstate faith that they too hold ‘right to life which does not limit to mere existence but extends to life with dignity’. The principle enshrined in Article 3 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR), Article 6.1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)and Article 21 of the Indian Constitution explains the same. There are several welfare provisions enacted for the protection and welfare of the seafarers under Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour) Rules, 2016 which provided them with the remedy to initiate appropriate legal action in the Court of Law to recover their unpaid wages and other statutory benefits from their respective Shipping Companies, however as the current situation demands invocation of immediate welfare benefits such as Seafarers Welfare Fund Society which would provide several welfare facilities to seafarers suffering from distressing situation, by providing them and their families with financial assistance, along with benefits like maternity and old aged at the disastrous times of Covid-19.

           That brings us to a question, “whether any thought has been given to this area of concern by the legislators for people who are none less than fighters against Covid-19 to keep the supply chain across the globe intact”. The need of this hour is to frame a public policy addressing the above-noted concerns to put the utilization of Seafarers Welfare Fund and part of Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for the wellbeing of such men and their families which might act as a wave to give them some relief from the psychological trauma suffered by them.       

STEPS INITIATED BY INDIAN GOVERNMENT AND A WAY FORWARD:

GUIDELINES FOR SIGN-ON:

           After taking into consideration the issues concerning Crew Change in the maritime sector, the Directorate General Shipping, has issued Standard Operating Procedures/Protocols (SOP) for controlled crew change i.e. Sign-on and Sign-off at vessels containing Indian crew members. There is an attempt made to slow down the sufferings of crew members on board as well as those stranded to board the vessel, ready to start their voyage. These set of Guidelines contained in the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) reflects upon the submission of travel history for last 28 days by the seafarer as per the Form No. 1 attached to the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). The same Form has to be submitted to Ship-owners/ RPS Agency (Recruitment & Placement Services) via email, who are required to then submit it further to DG Shipping approved medical examiner, for assessment and certification of the seafarer’s fitness to join the ship. Therefore, it is submitted that the criteria for exercising this discretion by the medical examiner do not stand on the foot of equity as the facts contained in the SOP can be manipulated/altered by the applicant (seafarer), thereby defeating the holistic purpose of putting the whole system in play.

           Once the approval of medical examiner is obtained, then the obligation to identify the travel route along with the arrangement of seafarer’s vehicle and driver falls in the court of Ship-owner/ RPS Agency (Recruitment & Placement Services) and accordingly an e-pass would be generated which needs to be submitted to the local Authorities wherein the seafarer resides, after which, a transit pass shall be issued to them from the place of residence to the place of embarkation on a shipping vessel. Upon reaching port of embarkation, the seafarer shall undergo the Covid-19 test and if the results turned out to be ‘negative’ only then shall he/she be ready to sign-on, violation of such process would make them liable to be prosecuted as per the Guidelines issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.         

GUIDELINES FOR SIGN-OFF:

           The set of Guidelines for Sign-off is issued by DGSP (Directorate General of Shipping) which includes but not limited to ascertaining the health of each crew member by the master of the ship before arriving at its port of call in India and submission of the Maritime Declaration for Health to the Health Authorities of designated Port. It would be the responsibility of ship-owners/ RPS that all standard health protocols are observed and followed till the time seafarer reaches the facility of sample collection and he/she shall be kept under quarantine facility for a period of 14 days from the date of departure from the last foreign port, Upon completion of the said 14 days, he/she shall then undergo a test to confirm himself ‘negative’ of COVID-19

           That upon being declared as negative, the same procedure needs to be followed concerning the identification of seafarer’s travel route and making necessary arrangements for the same, however, the question that arises here is that how would such SOP be feasible at these difficult times, whereby the entire administrative machinery is struggling to prevent the bridge of economy and the health system collapsing from its own path. Moreover, the possibility of compliance of the same by those seafarers whose place of residence is hundreds of miles away at the prevailing pandemic is not possible as no policy has been framed so far concerning the same by the legislatures.  

CONCLUSION:

           Therefore, it is a need of this hour to draft and implement a policy framework in order to cater to the needs of the seafarers and their family members in order to infuse a sense of belongingness towards them from their elected representatives and shout loud a message of unity and humanity in this war against indiscernible enemy i.e. Covid-19 when their loved ones are stranded somewhere at the middle of the Ocean and striving to make “the voyage of Life Sail”.

-Arun Wighmal

Advocate

BSL.LL.B., LL.M. 

Mob- +91-800945374

E-mail: [email protected]