Putting welfare first

Under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006: “States are invited to consider the upgrading of existing seafarers’ welfare facilities and to establish new ones for the benefit of seafarers calling at their ports. They are also invited to found welfare board committees that are intended to bring together port authorities, shipowners’ and seafarers’ organisations, welfare organisations, port state control, the local community, and all those who have an interest in the welfare of seafarers.”

Funding for the establishment of seafarer centres can be approached differently, says Mr Whitlow. “Some ports apply a levy to every ship entering port, others are supported by the local community. This is why the wider and more representative the welfare board is the better it will be.”

Another role of the welfare board is to identify how a seafarers’ centre needs to look and what it should provide, he adds.

Small ports based in towns may have seafarers’ centres outside the port area that utilise existing community leisure centres. “This is workable so long as seafarers are allowed outside the port boundaries and the facilities are not located so far away that seafarers do not have time to access them.

“Perhaps most importantly, under the MLC, member states will have to facilitate seafarers’ shore leave and transit, which is a problem in many ports. So port authorities may also have a role in convincing their national administrations to address the problem from a port and seafarer perspective.”

MLC states that seafarers should be provided with shore leave, points out Dr Doumbia-Henry. Separately to MLC, the ILO Convention 185 provides for seafarers to have Seafarer Identity Documents (SID), so that seafarers should not need a visa for shore leave. “We are encouraging more countries to ratify Convention 185 because it is designed to give countries the security they need and give seafarers a facility to be able to have shore leave – it is their right under MLC.”