The Hindu Business Line : `Action against FoC vessels Week' in Kochi

During the week of action, the ITF inspectors would inspect the visiting ships and investigate about the living conditions of crew on board and the vessel condition.

Kochi , Nov. 30

The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) South Asian week of action against Flags of Convenience (FoC) vessels, organised as part of the ITF campaign worldwide, will be observed at the Kochi port from December 4 to 8.

The action week is part of ongoing campaign to highlight the dangers posed by FoC vessels to the crew that sail on them and the oceans they sail through.

Countries from the south Asian region participating in this year's action week will include Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

During the week of action, the ITF inspectors, assisted by activists and volunteers from seafarers and dockers union, inspect ships visiting their ports and investigate about the living conditions of crew on board and the vessel condition. Mr Thomas Sebastian, ITF Inspector at the Kochi port said that it is established by the ITF that the FoC ships pay low wages to seafarers and flout safety and health regulations causing accident death and also polluting world oceans. An FoC ship is one, which flies the flag of a country other than the country of ownership. Ship owners sign up to the FoC registries because fees are cheap, the taxes are low and their vessels go largely unregulated.

The South Asian action week this year will also seek to focus attention on attacks on port workers, whose jobs and working conditions are being threatened by privatisation, deregulation and other port reforms, he said.

It is necessary to ensure that problems besetting port workers unions and the ITF campaigns seeking to address these problems are highlighted in the weeks of action alongside the FoC campaign. Solidarity is a two way street and port workers increasingly need each other's support. Together they can oppose anti-union policies in ports, privatisation, deregulation and other port reforms leading to casualisation, he added.