World’s single largest transport union worried on impending bloodshed
The International Transport Workers (ITF) has reached out to humanitarian organizations and others to look into the well being of Seafarers and related workers including Sri Lankans as tensions on the vital shipping lane in the Red Sea and adjoining waterways has heightened to frightening levels, a senior most official said yesterday.
“We call for urgent de-escalation in the Red Sea. We are very concerned by the escalating situation and again reiterate that seafarers’ safety must be the number one priority.
The UN Security Council is right to call for an immediate end to the attacks on merchant and commercial vessels.
It is imperative that the crew of the Galaxy Leader is also released without conditions”, General Secretary of the ITF Stephen Cotton said.
Cotton said that every effort was currently being made to contact with affiliates directly or indirectly involved in the ongoing conflict in order to protect the well being of some 19 million sea workers across the globe that include some 1.2 million Seafarers who face the largest risk.
In a telephone interview over the phone, Cotton said that an estimated 10,000 Sri Lankan Seafarers embedded with foreign vessels that have to sail through the conflict zones are of a paramount concern to the ITF and that it is in touch with its Colombo affiliate in this regard.
“These Seafarers are definitely in the line of fire where they have become unwilling pawns in a global conflict never started by them and sadly though this should never be the case”, Cotton said.
ITF reaction to Red Sea
Following the attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and the Bab El-Mandeb strait since 19 November 19, 2023, the ITF together with maritime employers in the International Bargaining Forum (IBF) agreed to designate the southern section of the Red Sea and the Strait as a High Risk Area with effect from December 22, 2023.
“These are trying times for the industry and especially seafarers, who are simply doing their jobs. While this is a sensitive political issue, for the seafarers it’s about their health and safety. We welcome the decisions made by several companies to pause or reroute vessels to avoid the risk of attack and we are pleased that our partners have responded positively to our request to reflect the potential risks that exist for all seafarers transiting the Red Sea at this time.”
“We continue to call for governments to provide military support in the area and ensure the release of the Galaxy Leader crew.”
Sri Lankan Seafarers told to board ships at their own risk – Atukorale
Sri Lankan maritime union on Wednesday advised local Sri Lanka ship workers to avoid boarding vessels sailing in the turbulent Red Sea area but stopped short of discouraging them of gaining employment on the foreign vessels.
“The choice is theirs and they are quite aware of the dangers associated with their work and therefore beyond are advice there is very little we could do”, Palitha Atukorale with the National Union of Seafarers Sri Lanka (NUSS) said.
“At present there are between 10, to 12,000 Sri Lankan Seafarers registered with the NUSS and naturally are concerns are with them”, Atukorale said.
The NUSS has also urged the employers to raise the salaries and risk allowances of the Seafarers and in the case of a fatality the compensation should be doubled, he added.
“The bulk of the Sri Lankan Seafarers come from low income families and they are willing to take the risk in order to keep their home fires burning. But however having said that undue advantage should not be taken and we are working towards this end”, Atukorale said.
He said the International Transport Workers’ Federation is also closely monitoring the situation and it is keeping in touch with Colombo, according to Atukorale said.
The ITF is an international maritime trade union with officers in around 143 countries and packs a membership of some 17-plus million members.
The Sri Lankan Government for its part sees no idea in banning the recruitment of Sri Lankan Seafarers war or otherwise, the Director General of Merchant shipping Ajith Wijeysinghe said.
He endorsed Atukorales’s views. “If Sri Lanka Seafarers are seeking to board foreign vessels the choice is theirs after all they know the risks involved”, Wijeysinghe said.
The Sri Lankan Navy for its part has made all necessary arrangements for the deployment of a war ship into the Red Sea where it will join a fleet of coalition vessels from across the globe.
“As it has been mentioned before the Sri Lankan vessels will act in the capacity of prvoding security to merchant vessels moving in the Red Sea towards ports in Colombo.
The Sri Lankan Navy will not engage the warring factions even if there are provocations unless there is an immediate danger to the well being of personnel on board or the vessel”, Navy Spokesman Captain Gayan Wickramasuriya said.
“A date for departure is yet to be established and this will be finalized with the collective decision of the other stakeholders”, Wickramasuriya said without elaborating.
On January 3, 2024, President President Ranil Wickremesinghe revealed the country’s decision to join international efforts against the Houthis in Yemen with a deployment of vessels to the Red Sea.
Houthi rebels, who control large swathes of Yemen, have launched missile attacks on vessels passing through the Red Sea demanding an end to the Israeli attacks on Palestine.
Their main targets are commercial ships linked to the US and Israel, and the Houthis carry out these attacks using drones and issiles.
Attacks by the Houthis on commercial ships in the Red Sea have disrupted the region’s crucial shipping activity, including the primary route for vessels entering the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal.
This disruption has prompted some ships to reroute their journeys, opting for the longer but safer passage around South Africa.
The US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian is already underway and covers a wider area than just the Red Sea, encompassing the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman.
India has already deployed six warships as part of this initiative.
Sri Lanka’s planned deployment aligns with these efforts, to support the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian that is also supported by India.
The Houthi rebels have so carried out some 26 attacks on both merchant and naval vessels in the Red Sea.
