Modern day maritime piracy is a world-wide phenomenon that poses a serious threat to international shipping. An economic approach to the control of maritime piracy is based on the general economic theory of law enforcement that views offenders (pirates) as rational decision makers who would respond to threatened punishments.
As much as it is necessary to carry out stringent checking at ports of the vessel to maintain proper sanitization to minimize the spread of the virus, it is important that the seaman in all scenario is fairly treated based on the various guidelines given by the IMO.
Eighty-seven Indian sailors were stuck and suffered hardships on five ships that were detained by Indonesia for “illegal anchoring” in February 2019.
The practice of charging masters and ships’ officers, as well as other crew members, with criminal offences have resulted in creating widespread attention in recent years, both within and beyond the shipping industry.
What Happened? The Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Admiralty Judge in ‘The CMA CGM LIBRA’ in that a defective Passage Plan can render a vessel unseaworthy notwithstanding that the defect stemmed from navigational decisions. Any such error is attributable to the carrier or owner and constitutes a failure by the carrier or…
Criminalization of the seafarers is a term used when any crew, master or any maritime professional faces criminal charges due to an accident involving their vessel, which also caused damage to the port or territorial waters of a country or its environment or such damage to a person or property in the territorial waters…
For seafarers, many of them are chartering this new reality as many seafarers are under dire psychological and financial stress that is unprecedented in contemporary times.
The WHO and IMO have joined forces and issued a joint- statement in ensuring that health measures are implemented in ways that minimize unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade.
Researchers at MARINTEK believe that in ten to twenty years time there will be 200 metre cargo ships plying the oceans without the need of a captain or crew. But before this can happen, we will be seeing the technology working on an existing vessel.