The manning of ships and repatriation of seafarers

There was a time when trade used to be conducted by sailing ships. There was no question of marine pollution as marine technology was primitive. The loss of ships and lives occurred frequently - accepted as the peril of sea and risk involved in seafaring. However, shipping has come a long way since faster and bigger ships are transporting millions of tons of cargoes from and to all corners of the world. Apart from domestic and national standards, ships have to comply with international standards of safety, security and protection of marine environment. Plus, ships have to maintain schedule, deliver cargo on time and in good condition, take passengers to their destinations on time and in cheerful spirit - all parts of their business engagement. The ship is expected to make profit for its owners at the end. Successful business can generate more incomes and provide employment not only to seafarers but also to others in associated activities. Thus, it is a competitive world in which the seafarers play a very vital role.
The term seaman has been used from the earliest days. It was widely used in the United Kingdom's Merchant Shipping Act, 1894. Later, it started to mean deck ratings. Once, the term crew meant "everyone employed on the ship other than the master". The ship's complement used to be referred to as "the master and the crew". In this respect, it is wrong to mention - "officers and crew" because all officers other than the master are also crew. In 1978, the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch-keeping for Seafarers (STCW) has introduced three terms to bring an end to the confusion. The term seafarer shall mean every person employed on the ship whose services directly or indirectly contribute to the safe operation of the ship. The term officer shall mean those capacities identified and referred to as officers in the convention but may also include other categories that are traditionally considered as officers under national system. The top four officers - master, chief mate, chief engineer and second engineer - are referred to as management level officers whereas other officers are considered to be of operational level. The term rating shall refer to all other subordinate categories (other than officers). They form the support level of duties and functions. Therefore, we can also say "the officers and ratings".
Likewise, manning is an important factor in the operation of ships. It has two important ingredients - sufficiency and efficiency. According to The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), every ship is issued with a Safe Manning Document (SMD) by its flag state. It must not be referred to as "Safe Manning Certificate" as SMC stand for Safety Management Certificate issued to a ship under ISM Code. SMD does not show the ideal or optimum manning for the ship. It shows the minimum manning with which the ship can lawfully proceed to sea and undertake a voyage. It is for the ship-owner to man the ship taking into consideration the requirement of the trade to make the operation profitable. So, sufficiency means that the administration will have no objection for the ship to carry more seafarers than what is stipulated in SMD provided - a) there is appropriate accommodation; b) Ship's Safety Equipment Certificate (SEC) covers such figures; c) the seafarers are appropriately trained for the job and hold relevant certificate where such is a requirement; d) all seafarers are given proper familiarisation training on joining the ship.
Now, the second ingredient efficiency means training and certification. There is an International Convention on Training, Certification and Watch-keeping for Seafarers; and each category of personnel defined in the convention must be trained and certified under the convention. The Convention applies for deck department to all vessels proceeding to sea and for engineering department to all vessels with propulsion power 750 kW and above. The SMD will normally use the same terminology as used in the STCW convention to refer to any particular capacity or category. Officer's certificates of competency must have recognition endorsement by the Flag state though ratings can be employed directly on the basis of their national certificates of qualification. The final document that entitles an officer or rating to serve on a tanker (oil, chemical or gas) must be issued by the government.
 In most cargo ships, the deck officers shall perform the duties of a radio operator and one of them shall also act as the ship's security officer. Nevertheless, this does not prevent the ship-owner from employing a dedicated radio operator or security officer. The SMD of the ship may contain requirement of a ship's cook though its training and qualification have not yet been detailed in the STCW convention. The SMD of a passenger ship may have a requirement for a medical doctor. A ship-owner may also employ refrigeration or air-conditioning engineer on passenger ships and refrigerated vessels. Passenger ships may employ additional crew to meet the requirements of Emergency Muster List (EML) but such persons shall be preliminarily trained. Cadets, apprentices and assistant engineers (engineering apprentice or cadet undertaking ship-board training) are not listed in SMD as they do not constitute essential crew (officer or rating) for the operations. There is no category known as Ordinary Seaman because the person remains a trainee rating until qualification and SMD does not show any requirements for a trainee.
Moreover, ships used to employ only the nationals of the flag state but outsourcing has now become a common feature. Ships are manned by seafarers from different countries based on their efficiency and economic status. Cheaper crew does not necessarily mean poor quality since training seafarers in Philippines or Bangladesh is much cheaper than training in the United States or Germany. Maritime travel has become simpler, faster and cheaper. There is a new business relating to crewing of ships operated by crewing agents. The company responsible for safe operation of the ship is also responsible for manning and resources. While conducting audit, the company must be able to show that it has appropriate policy and guidelines for recruitment of duly qualified and competent seafarers. If the company makes excessive references to crewing agent then it makes the crewing agent an extension of the company and hence makes it liable to audit.
However, delegates drafting International Labour Organisation - Maritime Labour Convention (ILO-MLC) in 2006, realised the bitter truth that the ship-management companies based in New York, London, Glasgow, Singapore and Hong Kong have been recruiting crew through their agents in Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Vietnam where the seafaring regulations do not exist. This prompted them to introduce the provision of Seafarers' Recruitment and Placement Services (RPS) so that concerned governments can exercise some regulatory control through their registration process.
 Undoubtedly, ILO-MLC is a convention that deals with seafarers' rights and privileges. The purpose is to ensure good working and living conditions - accommodation, food, medical care, hours of rest, wages, repatriation, etc. The convention has some clear provisions regarding the repatriation of seafarers. Each member-state shall require any ship which flies its flag to provide financial security for ensuring that seafarers are duly repatriated in accordance with the code. At time of registration and subsequent renewal, the flag state would ensure that the ship has adequate or sufficient protection and indemnity (P&I) to cover for claims against the ship for crew repatriation. Such P&I policy will cover against many other claims including environmental damage and removal of wrecks. The convention further stipulates that if the company or ship-owner fails to repatriate the crew, the government shall do so with the right to recover the cost from the company. At least one flag state (government) has fulfilled its obligation and repatriated the crew - Gibraltar. Finally, the convention requires the government of the seafarers' nationality to repatriate the crew reserving the rights to recover the same from the ship-owner. Regardless of the ILO-MLC, seafarers shall reserve the right to approach a court (where the ship may be) to arrest a ship for claims against crew wages and repatriation. The seafarers must not fail to register their claim with the court as soon as a ship is arrested by any other claimant.
Furthermore, the convention has another provision calling upon all member-states to facilitate crew repatriation by allowing free passage through their territory without any hindrance and to also provide similar facility to the replacement of crew joining the ship. Member-states should implement the provisions of the convention in letter and spirit.
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