Maritime Union of New Zealand

The Maritime Union says it will raise the situation of the Oyang 75 fishery prosecutions when it appears before a hearing tomorrow (Monday 17 October) for the Government Inquiry into Foreign Charter Vessels in the New Zealand fishing industry.

Investigations by the Ministry of Fisheries have led to 26 charges being laid against five Korean officers including the captain of the Oyang 75.

The Ministry of Fisheries reported on 13 October that the commercial fishing vessel Oyang 75 had sailed from Port Lyttelton.

The first court date for the officers is in the Christchurch District Court on 17 November 2011.

Depending on the outcome, the Oyang 75 may become forfeit to the New Zealand Government, according to the Ministry, and a bond had been placed on the vessel.

Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says the union is pressing for a complete overhaul of fisheries regulations and the removal of foreign charter vessels from the New Zealand fishing industry.

“We have come to expect this type of thing from so many of these foreign chartered vessels operating in joint ventures. The pattern of worker exploitation and environmental plunder are two faces of the same coin.”

But Mr Fleetwood says the blame is getting placed on crews, while the corporate executives at the top of the “food chain” were walking away with profits from rotten and unethical practices.

“Once again we see crews taking the rap and getting charged, but everything they do will be a result of getting immense pressure on from the charterers and the ship owners who demand profit at all cost.”

“The system is set up so the big operators keep their distance from the dirty end of things.”

Mr Fleetwood says compared to other maritime disasters recently, this may seem small time, but it showed how lax standards and the deregulated open coast policy promoted by Government and business were the norm in the maritime industry.

“This is where the problems can be tracked back to, right to the top of New Zealand’s political and business establishment.”

Mr Fleetwood says the history of the Oyang 75 and its doomed predecessor the Oyang 70 made amazing reading and it was a travesty any vessels from this company were still allowed on the New Zealand coast.

The Wellington hearings for the Inquiry will be held in the Grand Chancellor Meeting Room, Hotel Grand Chancellor James Cook, 147 The Terrace, Wellington from 10 am to 4 pm on Monday, 17 October.

The Maritime Union will be making its presentation at 1.15pm.

Background to the Oyang 75

The company responsible for chartering Oyang 75, Southern Storm Fishing, were the charterers of the vessel Oyang 70 that sank in 2010 off New Zealand with the deaths of six crew.

In May 2011, Southern Storm Fishing held a “media event” in Dunedin where television journalists from both main networks were invited on board to inspect their new replacement vessel, the Oyang 75.

But less than two months later, the crew of the new flagship of their fleet have abandoned the Oyang 75 en masse in Lyttelton, claiming physical and verbal abuse and underpayment.

A pattern of activities has been identified by the Maritime Union going back several years, in relation to the operations of Southern Storm Fishing and their vessels and crews.

ShinJi and Mr Hyun Choi

Department of Labour was reported earlier this year as investigating claims of abuse and underpayment of crew on ShinJi.

Crew members told media they left the vessel in Auckland due to underpayment and mistreatment.

The Shin Ji is chartered by Christchurch-based Tu Ere Fishing, which went into voluntary administration earlier in 2011.

A director of the company was Hyun Choi, also a director of Southern Storm Fishing.

In 2009 the ITF and Maritime Union investigated the Shin Ji after 12 Indonesian crew left the vessel.

The reasons they gave for leaving the vessel were non payment of wages, problems with harassment from officers, and substandard living and working conditions.

ITF inspector Grahame MacLaren reported a number of problems – “the vessel was in need of a good clean and there were large areas of rust on the deck in the galley, no bed linen, no hot water with the crew expected to shower in cold sea water. We also pointed out that the life rafts were almost inaccessible due to fishing gear being stowed all around them.”

NZ$52,776 in back pay was secured for the crew by the ITF and the crew were repatriated back to Indonesia despite initial resistance from the charterers.

Southern Storm media promotion

Southern Storm represented by publicist Glenn Inwood of Omeka Communications in Oyang 75 media promotion in May 2011.

Inwood’s previous clients have included Japanese whaling industry and tobacco companies.

The $1000 “Bounty”

An advertisement placed in the Otago Daily Times in 2007 offers an $1000 bounty for information about missing crew member Kismo Pakistan who left his vessel the FV Oyang 70 in Dunedin on 5 June 2007.

The contact listed in the advertisement was Fisheries Consultancy Limited of Lyttelton and the advertisement was authorized by Southern Storm Fishing (2007) Limited of Christchurch.

Breach of RMA

In 2009 Southern Storm was found guilty of breaching the Resource Management Act following an oil spill from the Oyang 70 in Port Nelson.

They contested that they were not the responsible party, but the judge found otherwise.

Sinking of Oyang 70

Southern Storm chartered vessel Oyang 70 sinks on 18 August 2010, 400 nautical miles off Otago coast. Six crew drowned.

Surviving crew kept away from media when taken ashore. The crew were then bussed to a secret location, with police closing the Lyttelton tunnel so a media contingent could not follow the survivors’ bus through to Christchurch.

A former police officer involved in the case stated that crew were “treated appallingly” (Sunday Star Times, 12 April 2011).

“All the survivors came with the same story, and they all said they were hauling a bag of fish,” says Greg Lyall, captain of the Amaltal Atlantis, who rescued the survivors.

“The vessel lent over to one side – the factory filled up with water and the engine room filled up with water. There were no alarms, no lighting, nothing, and within 10 minutes the boat was gone and most of them had to swim to the life rafts.”

The Maritime Union has renewed calls for inspection reports on the Rena to be made public and for clarification of what a Maritime New Zealand inspection involves.

Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says it is still unclear what type of inspection was carried out on the Rena in Bluff by Maritime New Zealand on 28 September 2011.

“Was this Maritime New Zealand inspection a full inspection of all areas of concern that had been picked up in China or Australia, or was it simply a chat to the Master and acceptance of whatever he said? Let’s see the paperwork.”

Mr Fleetwood says numerous issues with the Rena had been picked up in Australia and China over preceding months leading to the ship being detained. These had included several safety of navigation issues.

He says the real issue is the power of ship operators and charterers, and inadequate controls by ports and national maritime authorities.

“Masters are held hostage to the demands of the charterers and owners, which is where the real responsibility lies, but those at the top are almost untouchable.”

Mr Fleetwood says one area which had not been discussed so far is how the hectic schedule of the Rena calling into multiple New Zealand ports in a short window of time may have caused crew fatigue.

“There is massive pressure on crews coming on from charterers and owners. Will charges be laid at the highest level or will the crew be made to be scapegoats while the big boys walk free and the taxpayer carries the cost of the clean up?”

Mr Fleetwood says he is concerned about the removal of crew members of the Rena from New Zealand.

He does not accept on face value the claim that this is for the crews own safety, as New Zealand had a police force that presumably was able to look after a few crew members.

“Our experience in the fishing and maritime industry is that agents and charterers, acting in concert with the authorities, are often in a huge hurry to get crews out of the country in similar situations to this.”

“We believe this is largely to do with minimizing the publicity and possibility of legal action. Is this another smother up going on here?”

Mr Fleetwood says the Filipino community should have nothing to fear following the Rena disaster, after reports of concerns for their safety.

“I have never heard anything so stupid than New Zealanders who want to blame Filipinos for this disaster. Most of the crew on the ship have no control over its navigation, and at this stage the arrested officers have not been convicted of anything, let alone people who aren’t anything to do with the ship.”

Mr Fleetwood says if people wanted to vent their frustration, it should be done in a strong and forceful way at the present and past New Zealand Governments and authorities who have allowed substandard flag of convenience vessels to continually trade on the New Zealand coast.

He says people interested in the background of the shipping issues should check out the MUNZ website (www.munz.org.nz) and the flag of convenience information on the website of the International Transport Workers Federation (www.itfglobal.org)

ENDS

For more information contact Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Joe Fleetwood on 021364649

The Maritime Union says that the responsibility for the Rena disaster lies with Government and authorities as much as with individual crew members.

Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says the arrest today of the master of the Rena on serious charges should not deflect attention away from the greater responsibility for the disaster.

He says New Zealand Government and authorities have created a situation where substandard flag of convenience shipping has been encouraged and enabled.

“1990s legislation from the then National Government created the so-called ‘open coast’ policy and this has meant that unacceptable practices have become the norm in New Zealand waters – it’s a case of out of sight and out of mind.”

Mr Fleetwood says a Maritime New Zealand “inspection” of the Rena in Bluff on 28 September 2011 apparently consisted of the inspector asking the Master whether previous problems had been fixed.

“This is the same Master that the authorities are now trying to pin the blame on a couple of weeks later after the disaster.”

“But at the time of the inspection they obviously were prepared to take the Master at his word that everything was hunky dory on his ship, despite the fact it had been hauled up in China and Australia for multiple problems.”

Mr Fleetwood says if this is the standard approach of Maritime New Zealand to dealing with obviously problematic vessels, the only surprise in the grounding of the Rena is that it hadn’t happened earlier.

He says the Union is very concerned about the welfare of crew members and wanted access to them to provide independent support.

“Can you imagine the stress of these seafarers, many with dependent families, who have spent nearly a week onboard a stricken vessel in mortal fear of their lives, and some only being taken off by helicopter after a Mayday call when the ship appeared to be in imminent catastrophe.”

He says it is now becoming a regular theme that systemic policy and regulation failures are resulting in serious harm to workers, the community and the environment.

“It is about time that the elected leaders started copping it when things go wrong rather than putting a smother over it and trying to shift the blame.”

He says the Union was repeating its call for all Maritime New Zealand reports on the Rena to be made public as soon as possible.

“If the authorities have managed to arrest the captain in such a fast manner, they can start to make public their own processes for full transparency and accountability to the New Zealand public.”

Mr Fleetwood says the Union has been arguing for stronger regulation of shipping for years in New Zealand waters, but Government’s have not wanted to hear the message.

He says the Union has had longstanding concerns that Maritime New Zealand regulations and inspections of flag of convenience vessels were superficial, limited and not strict enough.

The Union has compiled a short list of some of the flag of convenience shipping issues that it has been involved in over the last few years (see end of media release).

Mr Fleetwood says comment by Transport Minister Steven Joyce that the Maritime Union’s views were “political” were accurate.

“Mr Joyce is right. The issue is political. It is political because the John Key led National Government have been happy to have flag of convenience ships running on the New Zealand coast as a result of their political decisions.”

“In this case their political decision to promote and allow flag of convenience shipping on the New Zealand coast has had real life consequences, which have proved far beyond the political ability and the practical ability of the Government to deal with.”

“If we allowed trucks on New Zealand roads that were licensed in Liberia or some other semi-functioning failed state, and driven by unregulated overseas drivers, there would be an outcry. Yet that is what we allow on the New Zealand coast and now we are paying the price.”

Mr Fleetwood says in addition to its campaigning against Flag of Convenience shipping it had lobbied the Government last year with a plan to provide a fast response vessel for offshore oil spills.

The Union approached the Minister of Energy and Resources, Hon Gerry Brownlee, as well as the Minister of Transport Hon Steven Joyce and Minister of Environment Hon Nick Smith, in July 2010 to support the introduction of a ready response vessel for the maritime sector to cope with oil spills and similar events.

This ready response vessel would have been aimed at the offshore oil and gas industry but could easily have been used to quickly respond to oil leaks in the current Rena disaster.

The Union was told to send their information into a Ministry of Economic Development review, which it did.

Further background information: Some previous incidents on Flag of Convenience vessels in NZ waters including cargo and fishing vessels and crews

May–July 2011
In May 2011, Southern Storm Fishing held a “media event” in Dunedin where journalists were invited on board to inspect their new vessel, the Oyang 75, that replaces the Oyang 70 that sank last year.
But less than two months later, in July 2011, the crew abandoned the Oyang 75 en masse in Lyttelton, claiming physical and verbal abuse and underpayment.

July 2011
Overseas crew members left the ShinJi in Auckland due to underpayment and mistreatment. DOL investigating.
In 2009 the ITF and Maritime Union previously investigated the Shin Ji after 12 Indonesian crew members left the vessel.

December 2010
Five Korean crew are confirmed dead and 17 missing presumed drowned after the No. 1 In Sung sank in the Southern Ocean in unexplained circumstances.

August 2010
Oyang 70 fishing vessel sinks in Southern Ocean. Six deaths. Survivors brought to Lyttelton. Claims of underpayment by surviving crew investigated (Korean, Filipino, Indonesian, Chinese).

May 2010
Two sailors, one Korean and one Burmese, died after suffocating in the TPC Wellington’s timber hold at Marsden Point wharf near Whangarei in May 2010.

2010
10 Sri Lankan crew members aboard the MV Charelle docked at the Ports of Auckland were not paid for 3 ½ months.
The vessel and its previous crew were held by Somali pirates for six months last year, only being released after a ransom was paid on 3 December 2009.
Crew members were being paid well below ITF rates and even less than International Labour Organization (ILO) minimums.

2009
The Liberian-flagged Annapurna was seized by creditors after it berthed in Auckland in 2009, following the bankruptcy of its owners Eastwind.
The Maritime Union looked after 23 Burmese crew members, some of the crew members had not been paid for up to a year.

June 2009
12 Indonesian fishermen from joint venture fishing vessel Shin Ji leave vessel in Tauranga, citing non payment of wages, harassment and substandard conditions.
NZ$52,776 back pay obtained for crew and repatriation to country of origin.

2008
The Maritime Union took action to recover the unpaid wages of a Russian crew aboard the Southern Pearl after it was arrested in the Ports of Auckland.

June 2006
Burmese crew aboard Sky 75 in Timaru approach union for help.
Wages were unpaid, physical and verbal abuse. 10 Indonesian crew previously jumped ship in Nelson in 2005 with similar claims.

May 2006
Joint venture fishing vessel Malakhov Kurgan involved in crew dispute in Lyttelton.
Crew wished to be paid New Zealand minimum wage when working in New Zealand waters. Threats from Ukraine based employers received by crew.

March 2006
9 Indonesian fishermen from Korean fishing vessel Marinui jump ship in Dunedin, claiming severe physical and mental abuse.
Crew were being paid US$6 per day. Repatriation and backpay organized.

January 2004
33-year old Vietnamese fishermen Vo Minh Que drowned near Stewart Island after falling from the trawler Tasnui.
Maritime New Zealand reported that poor condition of vessel and lack of safety gear or procedures contributed to his death.

January 2004
Several watersiders were lucky to escape when several tonnes of collapsing equipment from a ship’s crane crashed onto the wharf at Southport in Bluff on Wednesday 14 January 2004.
At around 1.30pm, a gantry crane on board the Marshall Island-flagged ‘Tasman Independence’ had a large turntable crash onto the wharf with cargo after metal ropes snapped.
Three waterfront workers and a forklift driver were ‘a couple of metres away’ from where the wreckage fell.

November 2003
A crane on board the Hong Kong-flagged Maritime Friendship snapped while loading logs onboard at Port Chalmers at around 9.18pm on Friday 28 November 2003.
The boom of the crane swung around onto the operators’ cab, breaking windows and bending the cab’s window frame.
A local watersider operating the crane had to dive for cover in the back of the cab.

International incidents of note with Flag of Convenience vessels in recent years include the grounding of the Panamanian flagged bulk carrier “Pasha Bulker” in Newcastle, Australia, 8 June 2007.

The Maritime Union of New Zealand has welcomed today’s announcement by the Government of the terms of reference and panel for an official and wide ranging inquiry into foreign owned vessels in the fishing industry.

Maritime Union General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says the Government’s objectives sound good on paper, but the Union wants real answers.

“Enforceable rules and regulations for labour standards, and the need for New Zealand to benefit from our own resources, including jobs, are the big issues. This inquiry will need to shine a light into dark places.”

“This inquiry is long overdue and the Maritime Union have been calling for one for many years. But we know in advance that this inquiry will confirm what we already know, that disgraceful practices have become the norm and accepted by the industry.”

This has caused great harm, says Mr Fleetwood.

He says in 2006 new regulations were brought in to tighten up the rules around overseas crews on joint venture vessels, but the inquiry was effectively an admission that previous efforts had not cleaned up the industry.

“This is a problem that has been allowed to grow and grow for decades.”

Mr Fleetwood says the Maritime Union’s goal for the fishing industry was simple.

“We want to have the fishing and processing done by New Zealand operators employing New Zealand workers on decent wages and conditions. We want the phase out of joint ventures. They’ve been a failure, that has resulted in New Zealand being identified internationally as a place where disgraceful practices are condoned.”

“If overseas crews are phased out, the abuse, exploitation and underpayment will be solved.”

Mr Fleetwood says the Maritime Union would be working with other bona fide unions and the International Transport Workers’ Federation to discuss ways to organize local and international labour in the industry.

The announcement of a ministerial inquiry into foreign fishing charter vessels in New Zealand waters is long overdue.

The Maritime Union says ongoing problems with the abuse and underpayment of overseas crews on joint venture vessels in New Zealand waters have become an international embarrassment.

Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says the Maritime Union and International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) had intervened in numerous cases in the past few years.

“We are interested to see the industry is now calling for the inquiry, but we have been calling for an inquiry like this for years. It has been a long time coming.”

Mr Fleetwood says the current regulation of the New Zealand fishing industry and joint venture operators using international crews was being shown up as a failure.

“It is time to lance this boil. There needs to be a thorough investigation of the industry and immediate concrete steps, not just talk, to clamp down on the abuse and exploitation of overseas crews in New Zealand waters.”

Mr Fleetwood says the Union will be demanding that the ministerial inquiry is not just a “smother job” that sits on the bookshelf gathering dust.

“This must not be a box ticking exercise. We know what the problems are, what we need now is action, proper regulation, proper enforcement, to clean up a mess that has been allowed to grow for years under successive Governments.”

He says the Union wants an industry with world class wages and conditions for all workers, and employment opportunities for New Zealand workers in their own industry.

Mr Fleetwood says a recent incident where 32 crew left the Oyang 75 in Lyttelton earlier this month was an example of some of the problems in the industry.

The company responsible for chartering the Korean vessel, Southern Storm Fishing, were the charterers of the vessel Oyang 70 that sank last year with the deaths of six crew.

In May 2011, Southern Storm Fishing held a “media event” in Dunedin where journalists were invited on board to inspect their new replacement vessel, the Oyang 75.

But less than two months later, the crew of the new flagship of their fleet have abandoned the Oyang 75 en masse in Lyttelton, claiming physical and verbal abuse and underpayment.

In the latest development, a diplomat from the US State Department is currently visiting New Zealand as part of a investigation into global “human trafficking” which includes the abuse of fishing crews.

Mr Fleetwood says the Maritime Union is meeting with Ambassador Luis CdeBaca during his visit tomorrow to discuss concerns about the abuse of international crews in the global and New Zealand fishing industry.

Background to Oyang 75
A pattern of activities has been identified by the Maritime Union going back several years, in relation to the operations of Southern Storm Fishing and their vessels and crews.

ShinJi and Mr Hyun Choi
Department of Labour is reported to be currently investigating claims of abuse and underpayment of crew on ShinJi.
Crew members told media they left the vessel in Auckland several weeks ago due to underpayment and mistreatment.
The Shin Ji is chartered by Christchurch-based Tu Ere Fishing, went into voluntary administration recently.
A director of the company is Hyun Choi, also a director of Southern Storm Fishing, currently engaged in the Oyang 75 crew dispute in Christchurch.
In 2009 the ITF and Maritime Union investigated the Shin Ji after 12 Indonesian crew left the vessel.
The reasons they gave for leaving the vessel were non payment of wages, problems with harassment from officers, and substandard living and working conditions.
ITF inspector Grahame MacLaren reported a number of problems – “the vessel was in need of a good clean and there were large areas of rust on the deck in the galley, no bed linen, no hot water with the crew expected to shower in cold sea water. We also pointed out that the life rafts were almost inaccessible due to fishing gear being stowed all around them.”
NZ$52,776 in back pay was secured for the crew by the ITF and the crew were repatriated back to Indonesia despite initial resistance from the charterers.

Southern Storm media promotion
Southern Storm represented by publicist Glenn Inwood of Omeka Communications in Oyang 75 media promotion in May 2011. Inwood’s previous clients have included Japanese whaling industry and tobacco companies.

The $1000 “Bounty”
An advertisement placed in the Otago Daily Times in 2007 offers an $1000 bounty for information about missing crew member Kismo Pakistan who left his vessel the FV Oyang 70 in Dunedin on 5 June 2007.
The contact listed in the advertisement was Fisheries Consultancy Limited of Lyttelton and the advertisement was authorized by Southern Storm Fishing (2007) Limited of Christchurch.

Breach of RMA
In 2009 Southern Storm was found guilty of breaching the Resource Management Act following an oil spill from the Oyang 70 in Port Nelson. They contested that they were not the responsible party, but the judge found otherwise.

Sinking of Oyang 70
Southern Storm chartered vessel Oyang 70 sinks on 18 August 2010, 400 nautical miles off Otago coast. Six crew drowned.
Surviving crew kept away from media when taken ashore. The crew were then bused to a secret location, with police closing the Lyttelton tunnel so a media contingent could not follow the survivors’ bus through to Christchurch.
A former police officer involved in the case stated that crew were “treated appallingly” (Sunday Star Times, 12 April 2011).
“All the survivors came with the same story, and they all said they were hauling a bag of fish,” says Greg Lyall, captain of the Amaltal Atlantis, who rescued the survivors.
“The vessel lent over to one side – the factory filled up with water and the engine room filled up with water. There were no alarms, no lighting, nothing, and within 10 minutes the boat was gone and most of them had to swim to the life rafts.”

New Zealand maritime workers will be going up the gangway this week to check out ships flying “flags of convenience” and ensure that crew conditions, wages, and health and safety standards are up to scratch.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is holding its New Zealand Flag of Convenience Week of Action this week, ending Friday 3 June 2011.

Members of the ITF-affiliated Maritime Union of New Zealand will board vessels in New Zealand’s main ports, and go over documentation such as wage books, talk to crews, and inspect the seaworthiness and safety of ships.

Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says this is part of an ongoing international campaign to improve standards in the shipping industry.

He says that there have been a number of serious incidents on overseas vessels, including FOC vessels, in New Zealand ports and in and around New Zealand waters in recent years.

“We have had ongoing incidents ranging from underpayment of wages, failure for crews to be returned home at the end of their contracts, mistreatment and abuse, all the way up to serious injuries and deaths, and the sinking of vessels.”

Flag of Convenience (FOC) vessels are registered in countries with very lax or non-existent regulation of the maritime industry.

FOCs provide a means of avoiding labour regulation in the country of ownership, and become a vehicle for paying low wages and forcing long hours of work and unsafe working conditions.

ITF New Zealand inspector Grahame MacLaren says the week of action is intended to convey a clear message to Flag of Convenience operators who trade in New Zealand waters that they need to abide to basic ITF standards.

“The main focus will be to target FOC vessels without ITF agreements for the crew, but any other foreign flagged vessels will come under scrutiny.”

The ITF is made up of 681 unions representing 4,500,000 transport workers in 148 countries. It is one of several Global Union Federations allied with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).