Skip to main content

Seafarers

Seafarers 


Captain Ricardo Caballero

The Shipping industry has become extremely competitive. Hiring crew from "third" world countries can save shipowners some significant bucks. The Filipino, one of the most common nationality found aboard,  constitutes a large cut in expenses for many companies. Their salaries are normally well below from that of their "first world" counterpart, a situation which is considered fair bdcause it is "cheaper" to live in the Phillipines than, let's say, in France.

But, for shipping the savings are not only in the third world crew remunerations but in the fact that these crews spend longer periods of time aboard than, again, their "first world" counterpart. Granted, third world crew benefit from this labor relation since it enables them to have good earnings if compared to their companions working ashore back home. It is also understandable that the Captain and officers, bearing more responsibility, deserve to have shorter work periods than the rest of the crew. However, and it most cases,  when it happens that the whole crew is from a third world country then such condition ceases to be valid. In this case the Filipino Captain would spend more time aboard than an European Captain, for example. 

Why the difference? I can understand, though I don't agree with, the difference in pay, but I cannot understand the difference in time. Of course, the longer the seaman remains aboard the less money the company will have to spend in repatriation. The savings here is in airline tickets. How much? It will depend, but it is certainly less than if the work periods were shorter. 

But why isn't time equal for everybody performing equal functions aboard? 

Third world crews have family just like "first world" crews do. A month is the same for everybody. There isn't a "third world" month and a "first world" month. So why the difference? I already said it: money. And money creates a gap in working conditions.

 Staying aboard for 8 consecutive months is not the same as staying for 4 months. These days shore leave is limited. Ships spend little time in port. It is like staying aboard a "floating jail" ( ok, getting paid for it). Longer periods mean more fatigue, both physically and psychologically.  

I know that there is a "free" labor market out there and who ever is less "expensive" and able to do the job, will be hired.  I also know that shipping companies have the right to setttle agreements with (unions?) crews from any nationality, provided the STCW is complied with and there are no violations of ITF conditions. Moreover, I know that many third country seafarers are satisfied to have a job in spite of the unfair, sometime discriminatory, conditions. But, I think it is time to "humanize" the industry by doing away with discriminatory measures that take advantage from third world seafarers. The industry should always find ways to improve the live of sailors, indistinct of their nationality. They are the ones watching after their ships, the ones that take care of their business.

Why the difference? Isn't it that,  after all, when it comes to crews, "everybody is on the same boat".  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pilots: burden or necessity? Reality vs Ideal

Pilots: a burden or a necessity? Reality vs Ideal. Captain Ricardo Caballero Vega Panama Canal Pilot We all know, for being part of the shipping industry, what is the role of pilots. They act as advisors to the Captains when ships navigate in restricted waters. Their knowledge on currents, tides, depths, and resources, plus their ship handling skills are paramount to the safety of the ship, its cargo, the environment, the integrity of port facilities, and more. Having a pilot aboard is a relief for the Captain, is having the most valuable resource while in confined waters, it is having the expert.  But this isn't always the case according to a some deep sea ships' Captains.  I can understand that our presence in the bridge could be unsettling for some of the crewmembers, but not for the "Big Man". Most of the time we are treated with so much deference that we feel at home ( at times even better, something I never tell my wife). Normally, once I step aboard a ship the
10 comments
Read more

100 years of the Panama Canal Pilots Association, the passing on of a legacy

100 years of the PCPA (a family concept), and the passing on of a legacy. I never thought that by 2020 we would still have Captains Welch, Robbins, ( Robbins admitted the same too) or any other of the U.S. pilots with us. Neither did I think that Captain Jeremías De León, the first Panamanian Canal Pilot would be "sitting" next to them, patiently listening and ready to answer whatever we wanted to ask him.  I said "sitting" (in quotation marks) since the Pandemic prevents us from gathering at the Union hall, or anywhere else for that matter. It was a "Zoom" meeting, a virtual version of a real meeting. A collateral cause of the Pandemic. Thanks to technology I was able to enjoy the meeting from the comfort of the driver's seat of my vehicle, while parked in front of one of Felipe Motta's wine stores. The place could not have been more appropriate for the occasion given the current circumstances; this wasn't a regular meeting, it was the first e
2 comments
Read more

Were the "good old days" really good?

By Captain Ricardo Caballero Panama Canal Pilot Were "the good old days" really good? (seafarers version) I remember going to sea for the first time as a deck officer. It was not easy to adjust myself to working on a ship with a group of people from different nationalities and cultures. The Captain was Greek, and the Officers, except me, were also Greek. The rest of the crew was a mix of filipinos, sailors from 4 latin American countries, a couple of Canadian cadets, two Egyptians, and a few others from I can't remember which countries.  I do remember the Greeks complained about the present, saying that things were better in the past, saying that I had missed " the good old days". They did not specify what was good about those days. But I figured it would be the food aboard, the amount of crew, and the pay, which to me, was very decent. I recall that there was no time limit in my contract. I could stay for as long as I wanted. And I did stay for
1 comment
Read more