The Hindu Business Line : `Joint effort needed to curb dangers of flag of convenience'

Speakers at a seminar organised as part of Flag of Convenience Action Week at the Kochi port stressed on the need for concerted efforts by various agencies to reduce the dangers posed by the FoC, as the system could not be fully eradicated from the globalised world.

They were of the view that MoUs such as the Paris memorandum should be extended to cover all maritime countries of the world and the Port State Control Inspection should be made more effective and legal to avoid substandard shipping.

Shipping standards

They pointed out that seafarers should be trained in STCW 95 and ISM code among others and the DG Shipping or crewing companies should provide seagoing experience to seafarers.

The Merchant Shipping (Recruitment and Placement of Seafarers) Rules 2005 should be enforced effectively by the DG Shipping and the International Transport Workers Federation should coordinate various agencies to improve the service and living conditions of seafarers on vessels, they added.

Seminar

Inaugurating the seminar, the Deputy Chairman of the port, Capt Subhash Kumar, insisted that the FoC ship owners should comply with the provisions of "SOLAS" (saving of life at seas) conventions and ship owners should not be allowed to flout safety norms.

Capt Paul N. Joseph, Deputy Conservator, said that campaigns by the ITF and affiliated trade unions could reduce the evils of FoC and suggested that the ILO minimum labour standards should be enforced on all seagoing vessels.

Coordination

Presenting a paper, Mr Thomas Sebastian, ITF Inspector, highlighted the need of coordinated action between port state control offices, port agent, crew agents and port authorities so as to reduce the evils of FoC system and to ensure safe shipping and minimum labour standards for seafarers.

He also expressed concern over the growing FoC system since it affected dockers badly by encouraging port of convenience. Increased solidarity of seafarers and dockers might effectively check the menace to some extent, he added.

Capt Abraham Kuruvilla, Senior Master Mariner and former Chairman of DCI, said that all stakeholders of the shipping industry should join hands to curb the evils of FoC.