The Able Maritime Seafarers Inc manning agency in the Philippines is close to being red listed by the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) after a series of incidents where crews’ rights have been abused.
The ITF in a statement on Friday, launched its directory of agents at the beginning of August as part of its ITFShipBeSure.org initiative to help seafarers find safe, secure jobs.
ITF said in the Philippines, a seafarer must register with a manning agent to work overseas. The agent is responsible for ensuring a seafarer’s earnings make it back to their family.
To help seafarers avoid the rogue agents, the ITFShipBeSure.org website ranks agents as green (good to go) or red (best to avoid).
A run of horror stories sees Able Maritime coming close to being red listed by the ITF. This censure will come with a message from the ITF’s network of 134 inspectors and 670 affiliated unions across more than 150 countries: steer clear of ‘Able Maritime’.
“These seafarers have been trapped into working conditions well below the minimum we would expect and, in some cases, below what national and international laws allow.,” ITF Inspectorate Coordinator Steve Trowsdale said.
“In three entirely different parts of the world, Filipino seafarers have found themselves being paid much less than they signed up for in ‘Able Maritime’ contracts,” ITF Inspectorate Coordinator Steve Trowsdale said.
“These seafarers have been trapped into working conditions well below the minimum we would expect and, in some cases, below what national and international laws allow. Manning agencies have duty to protect the seafarers that they place in work, and to get them home if conditions prove unsatisfactory or the jobs were advertised in a misleading way. At least three times in as many months, ‘Able Maritime’ has fallen well short.”
Trowsdale said his investigations unit was awaiting formal responses from the company in question, and from the licensing authority: the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), which regulates the welfare and wages of more than 2.2 million Filipinos working abroad.
“If Able Maritime Seafarers Inc and the POEA on their behalf are unable to provide satisfactory responses to our serious and pressing questions; then we in the ITF will have no choice but to formally red list this manning agency and issue a worldwide alert through our networks warning seafarers of the potential dangers of engaging with this company,” said Trowsdale.
