“This tale is true, and mine…It tells
Of smashing surf when I sweated in the cold
Of an anxious watch, perched in the bow
As it dashed under cliffs. My feet were cast
In icy bands, bound with frost,
With frozen chains, and hardship groaned
Around my heart. Hunger tore
At my sea-weary soul…”
These immortal lines introduces us to the Seafarer. Responsible for steering humanity through the tumultuous sea of civilization. He is a lesson in contrasts. One filled with high spirits yet an often desolate figure. Very important to the scheme of things but often trivialized. Brave though sometimes timorous. Rambunctious but often taciturn. Amorous yet often cuckolded. The stuff of legends but very often the villain.
The seafarer comes in different shades. Generically speaking seagoing men and women are seafarers. Sailors, Naval men, Pirates, Buccaneers & Vikings (these trio an unscrupulous lot with a fascinating but ignoble history), Crewmen etc.
This post and the next however is mainly dedicated to the honest seafarer employed as crew on ships (i.e legitimately flagged ships either in the relevant home registry or in flags of convenience)
The Seafarer poem has been translated many times by numerous scholars, starting with Benjamin Thorpe in 1842 and including Ezra Pound. Between 1842 and the 2000’s over 60 different versions, in eight languages, have been recorded. But the one I love the most is the one whose lines appear in today's post translated by Burton Raffel.
It so vividly captures among other things the predicament and working conditions of the seafarer.
“…No man sheltered
On the quiet fairness of earth can feel
How wretched I was, drifting through winter
15 On an ice-cold sea, whirled in sorrow,
Alone in a world blown clear of love,
Hung with icicles. The hailstorms flew.
The only sound was the roaring sea,
The freezing waves. The song of the swan
20 Might serve for pleasure, the cry of the sea-fowl,
The death-noise of birds instead of laughter,
The mewing of gulls instead of mead.
Storms beat on the rocky cliffs and were echoed
By icy-feathered terns and the eagle’s screams;
25 No kinsman could offer comfort there,
To a soul left drowning in desolation…”
Surely such a brave soul ought to enjoy the rewards of his endeavours. Yet the seafarer, despite his crucial role in international trade and commerce and the perils of his job, for a long time suffered from a violation of his rights and in many ways still do.
Often his rights are poorly articulated and ignored but his blame quick to be fixed. But this state of affairs ought not to be the case. There do in fact exist a robust body of rights regarding the seafarer. Our aim in the next two posts is to ferret out these rights. What are the nature of these rights? Where can they be found? What International protections are offered to the Seafarer? What are the legal mechanisms for the vindication of these rights?
Our work is cut out. But first we must set the tone.
Let’s go to concert. The concert version of the Seafarer translation by Raffel was originally written for Rachel Gawell, and onstage she weaves the cello part the poem together. (Note: Rachel has performed the piece on No Signal concerts, at the Kimmel Centre in Philadelphia, and with the Peabody Camerata, which awarded the work its composition prize in 2007. But thanks to YouTube we would join her vicariously in concert
If I were you I would familiarize myself with the entire wordings here. That surely makes for a better concert experience.
What a beautiful rendition! Now that we are properly attuned to the seafarer’s tale, it’s time to get acquainted with his rights.
1.0. Seafarers Rights: Extent & Sources
The rights of the seafarer straddles different legislations and legal mechanisms both local and international. His (for the records whenever I use ‘his’ or any masculine pronoun or words to reference seafarers in this post and the next I am also referring to female seafarers. The masculine pronouns are used strictly for the sake of convenience
The sources of seafarer rights include: the law of the flag state (for e.g a Nigerian seafarer on a Panama flag ship, have rights (and obligations) under the laws of Panama); port state law (Generally a port State does not intervene in the internal affairs of a ship unless there is a dispute which concerns the peace and good order of the port (for example if a crime is committed on board a ship). However in many jurisdictions around the world, if there is a legal claim, for example for unpaid wages, a seafarer will be able to start a legal action in the courts of the port State); home state law (A seafarer may rely on rights contained in his home State law if that law governs his contract of employment. His home country can also provide support and assistance through its consular offices); contract of employment (Individual contract of employment sets out what a seafarer’s rights are between him and others and varies according to peculiar circumstances); and international law (Human rights instruments exist at international and regional level which may be relevant to the rights of seafarers.)
2.0. Major International legislations providing for the rights of seafarers.
A. ILO Based Conventions.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has set international labour standards for seafarers (they being workers as well) in 68 Conventions and Recommendations. These instruments, taken together, constitute a comprehensive set of standards and concern practically all aspects of living and working conditions of seafarers.
The standards though comprehensive is admittedly very unwieldy and confusing. These concerns probably led to the adoption of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 during the 94th Session of the ILO on February 23, 2006, with a view to consolidating previous standards in a single, coherent form.
The Maritime Labour Convention 2006 though not yet in force would soon become operational as only two ratifications are needed to hit the magic number 30 (the conditions are 30 ratifications; representing 33% of gross tonnage of ships. The tonnage requirement had long been met) needed for the convention to come into force.
The convention changes 37 ILO conventions, which means that these conventions upon entry into force of the MLC will close for ratification (if not already closed) and that entry into force for a specific country means automatic denouncement of its ratification to other conventions (if it has not already denounced them). You can find a list of the 37 ILO Conventions affected here.
The Convention applies to all ships (and the seafarers on that ship), whether publicly or privately owned, ordinarily engaged in commercial activities. It defines a seafarer as any person who is employed or engaged or works in any capacity on board a ship. The Convention does not apply to ships engaged in fishing or in similar pursuits; ships which navigate exclusively in inland waters or waters within, or closely adjacent to, sheltered waters or areas where port regulations apply; and ships of traditional build such as dhows and junks. The Convention does not apply to warships or naval auxiliaries. [Article II, paragraph 4].
For a detailed look at the workings of the convention, the American Bureau of Shipping Guidance Notes on The ILO Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 is an excellent resource.
Suffice it to say however that the Convention is big on Employment & Labour rights (it provides for an employment agreement, guaranteeing decent on-board working and living conditions, to be signed by both the seafarer and the ship-owner, or a representative of the ship-owner. Monthly pay, in full and in accordance with the employment agreement and any applicable collective agreement. 14-hour work limit in any 24-hour period, 72 hours in any seven-day period); It also contains rights akin to the right of the dignity of the human person (There are specific requirements for living accommodation and recreational facilities – including minimum room sizes, and satisfactory heating, ventilation, sanitary facilities, lighting and hospital accommodation, and access to prompt medical care when on board and in port).
Ships will need to comply with the Convention through holding a Maritime Labour Certificate and Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance issued by the flag state, which must be available on board for any port state inspection.
The ship-owner must pay to repatriate a seafarer in case of illness, injury, shipwreck, insolvency, sale of ship and so on. I emphasized the word ‘must’ deliberately. This is a very important provision and it is one which goes a long way in protecting the rights of seafarers. It would amaze you to know that ship-owners too can be guilty of abandoning ship! They simply leave the crew to their fate out there on the high seas with dwindling supplies. This sorry state of affairs “…is often a calculated economic decision by a ship owner facing bankruptcy, insolvency or the arrest of its vessel by creditors. In many cases, vessels are abandoned after they are detained by port state control inspectors as unseaworthy. The global economic downturn has hit some operators hard, but it is often the crews who come off worst…”
Now a break ‘plusssse!’
It’s an anathema to get bored on this blog so I would let you off with these guttural lyrics from Gallows in the metal musical genre (Yeah I do listen to metal too. I’m eclectic remember?) song titled ??? You guessed right- ‘Abandon Ship!’
Don’t you just love the last verse:
“Ladies and Gentlemen
May I have your attention please
This is the captain of your ship
I'm sorry we depart this way
You (substitute ship-owner) left me broken hearted
But I never loved you anyway”
There is really nothing to love about a ship-owner who abandons his ship and the crew to their fate!
Stay tuned for the concluding part.
See ya 
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