The Japanese Trade Union Con-federation (RENGO) convenedits 79th May Day general

assembly at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo at11:00 a.m. on April 26.

Some 45,000 individuals attendedthe assembly, with guests includingHealth, Labor, and Welfare MinisterYoichi Masuzoe and President IchiroOzawa of the Democratic Party ofJapan (DPJ).

A party of 77, including members ofthe Central Executive Board Commit-tee, other executives, and their familymembers, represented the All JapanSeamen’s Union (JSU).

The assembly started with theRENGO choir singing May Day songs,followed by an opening declaration.

It was this year’s main slogan thatall workers should cooperate with eachother in working on peace, humanrights, labor, the environment, andcoexistence for a better world, whilethe sub slogan was to bridge thewidening socio-economic gap in society.

“During the spring wage negotia-tions, many small and midsize enter-prise workers and partners won wagehikes, as they had not increased for ayear,” Rengo President Tsuyoshi Tak-agi said.

“The target of improving consumerspending, however, was not achieved.”

Expressing strong concern over thewidening of the socio-economic gap insociety, “the largest challenge to over-come to correct this is the issue ofirregular employment,” he said. Taka-gi called on the attendees to helpassist in this area.

He also commented also on the cur-rent Diet structure – that is, the rul-ing camp maintaining a majority inthe House of Representatives whilethe opposition camp prevails in theHouse of Councilors.

RENGO was against the decisionmade by the lower house regardinggasoline bills, temporary tax rates,and on a special law for road construc-tion, he added.

Regarding the medical system for

elderly citizens of 75 years old or high-er, he suggested that it be reviseddrastically, and even called for its abo-lition.

During the meeting, RENGO,NGOs, and NPOs adopted a joint mes-sage, claiming that they would workhand in hand to realize a society inwhich members could maximize theirabilities.

A May Day declaration was alsoadopted, consisting of several keypoints: the hope of transferring powerwhen the next lower house generalelection is held; realizing an everlast-ing world peace; rescuing victims fromhuman-rights violations; and bridgingthe socio-economic gap in society.

After a special resolution was madeto call for the abolition of the resur-

rected gasoline and other temporarytax rates, the medical system forelderly citizens of 75 years old andhigher, as well as resolutions to bemade on the pension record issue, themeeting was concluded with all partic-ipants indicating that they would dotheir best to help one another.

In the afternoon, RENGO held anevent for the first time for workers ofirregular employment at the YoyogiPark’s open-air stage.

Proclaiming that companies shouldnot simply employ workers for theshort-term and dispose them whencontracts expire, Takagi had a talksession with writer Karin Amamiyaand others, while the Newspaper, agroup of comedians, performed toliven up the event.

Be carefulhow you spellpain reliefPage 3

INSIDE

On May 12, the 12th JSU-FKSU Summit Meeting andJSU-KSSU staff meetingconvened on Cheju Island,South Korea.

The All Japan Seamen’sUnion (JSU) was representedby a delegation of five, led byPresident Yoji Fujisawa. TheFederation of Korean Seafar-ers’ Unions (FKSU) and theKorean Special Seafarers’Unions (KSSU) comprised ofa party of 11, which includedFKSU President Bang Dong-Sig.

During the JSU-FKSUSummit Meeting, informa-tion was exchanged regard-ing the enhancementof cooperation amongseamens’ unions inAsia and vessels to beinspected when theFOC and POC cam-paigns are carried out.

Discussions were also heldon a wide variety of subjects,including measures to sup-port to new education andtraining programs for Asianseafarers and measures to

prevent mackerel pike(saury) fishing by Taiwanesefishermen.

During the JSU-KSSUstaff meeting, it was con-firmed that Japan and SouthKorea would continue to helpeach other in the FOC andPOC campaigns, and that

the Maru-ship Agreement,applied to two cruise shipsoperating between Hakata

and Busan, would berevised partially.

It was also agreedthat the JSU wouldindirectly support theplan for developing anew seamen facility at

the Port of Busan and invitesix KSSU trainees to pro-mote interchange betweenthe two countries, hopefullyin autumn of this year.

Among the FOC ships

operated by Kotoku KaiunCo. Ltd. and other Japanesecompanies, there are largenumbers of chemical tankersand containerships that donot cater to Japan.

Thus, when these vesselscall South Korean ports, thecountry should require themto comply with the ITF Agree-ment, the JSU suggested.

FKSU and KSSU presi-dents, both of whom had justassumed their respectiveposts, attended the meetingsfor the first time.

JSU meets with South Korean counterparts Separate meetings with FKSU, KSSU address inspection campaign co-op and training programs, respectively

JSU staff join May Day rally in Tokyo

JSU staff joined the May Day rally together with other unions affiliatedwith RENGO (Japanese Trade Union Confederation) at Yoyogi Park inTokyo on April 26.

Welcome, IGA crewmembers!

My cellular phone rang inthe early morning of April 5,2008 Japan time, as Stephen,a friend of mine, called fromLong Beach, Calif.

“I am onboard IGA now,”he said. “Wages are so lowthat they are even below ITFstandards; please tell theJapanese shipowners that weare staging a protest.”

The call woke me up, butas it was 4 a.m. on a Satur-day, there was no way that Icould contact anyone.

“You can take your timecontacting [the company],” hecontinued. “In the meantime,we will be actively protest-ing.”

Later in the morning, I wasable to talk to the companyin question, but it said that ithad not yet decided to complywith the ITF agreement, andthat more time was neces-sary.

I told the company that Iwould not mind waiting, butthat I did not like to wastetime.

Six hours later, duringwhich I had countless cups ofcoffee, a decision had still notbeen made.

When it was close to earlyevening, the company agreedto sign the ITF-JSU agree-ment and pay wages accord-ing to the agreement retroac-tively from when crewmem-bers began to work onboardthe vessels.

Although it was already

IGA, See Page 4

IGA concludesITF-JSU agreement

JSU to also indirectly support new

seamen facility plan at Busan port

(2) MAY/JUNE 2008MARITIME NEWS/WARNINGS

Thirteen foreign crewmenof Japanese coastal tunaboats have run away over thepast six months, bringing thetotal number of missing for-eign fishermen to 127 since2003, according to transportministry officials.

The 13 crewmen are Indo-nesians who came to Japanunder the “Maru Ship” sys-tem, which was introduced in2003 to allow foreigners to

work aboard Japanese fish-ing boats. It was done tocover the acute shortage oflabor in the nation’s fishingindustry and to enhance itscompetitiveness.

The Land, Infrastructure,Transport and Tourism Min-istry has found that the 13crewmen ran away from portsat Shiogama in Miyagi Prefec-ture, Nachikatsuura inWakayama Prefecture and

Choshi in Chiba Prefecturebetween late October andApril, according to the officials.

Most of the 127 are believedto have come to Japan tosecure other jobs by takingadvantage of the easy proce-dures to work on boats underthe system. Some were founddoing agricultural work inIbaraki and other prefectures.

Since a series of casesinvolving missing foreign

fishermen was made publicin October, a national associ-ation of coastal bonito andtuna fishing operators hastaken steps to prevent fur-ther incidents, includingstepping up foot patrols atports. However, their effortshave proved ineffective, part-ly because of brokers whoarrange jobs for illegal work-ers. (Source: Japan Times/-Kyodo)

Foreign crewmen jumping ship off Japan

Philippine Overseas Em-ployment Administration(POEA)’s Rosalinda Baldoz isencouraging the victims ofillegal recruitment to makeuse of the POEA’s incentiveprogram in filing casesagainst their recruiters. Shehas observed that most illegalrecruitment cases do notprosper in courts due to desis-tance of the complainants.

Baldoz said many illegalrecruitment cases are dis-missed due to complainants’disinterest to pursue thecase or their inability to paythe required docket fees.Most often, after filing thecases, victims will not contin-ue with court proceedings,accepting measly sums ofsettlement money instead.

The POEA’s incentive pro-gram hopes to perk com-plainants’ interest in illegalrecruitment cases by provid-ing assistance to victims andwitnesses through the pay-ment of docket fees andother court-related expenses.As a bonus, victims and wit-nesses utilizing the programshall be given priority foroverseas employment at nocost, Baldoz said.

“It is very disappointing tosee illegal recruitment caseswe have helped build upbeing dismissed and archivedbecause the complainantslost interest or accepted set-tlement money to drop thecase,” said Baldoz.

She cited a case filed inManila which was already inthe pre-trial stage when one ofthe accused offered the com-plainant PHP70,000 as settle-ment money. (Source: POEA)

Benefits for victims of illegalrecruitment

The Maritime TrainingCouncil (MTC) has gottenits hands full after severalformer captains and anassociation of manningagencies expressed supporton the Department ofTransportation and Com-munications plans of eitherparing down or abolishingthe Maritime TrainingCouncil’s control over sea-farer handling.

In a letter sent to Presi-dent Arroyo, the group, ledby the Philippine MaritimeInstitute Alumni Associa-tion and the Conference ofMaritime Manning Agen-cies, stated that the MTCshould only coordinate poli-cies among its members. Itsaid, “This proposal willavoid confusion in seafarercertification process andprovide a netter system ofaccountability.”

The group added, “We areconcerned that MTC and itssub-office, the National

Assessment Center, compli-cate the certification pro-cess of our ship officers anddeprive them of hassle-freeemployment,” they said.“We find MTC as the cen-tral generator of confusingdirectives that led to over-lapping, if not encroaching,of functions among councilmembers.”

The group cited the Mar-itime Industry Authority asthe proper office to performthe central authority in cer-tification. The MTC wascreated on May 1, 1984 bythe order of former presi-dent Ferdinand E. Marcosand was mainly concernedwith implementing theInternational MaritimeOrganization’s Standards ofTraining, Certification andWatch keeping for Seafar-ers.

The Labor Secretary aschairman and the heads ofthe Commission also leadson Higher Education,

Philippine Overseas Em-ployment Administration,OWWA, Marina, Profes-sional Regulation Commis-sion, Philippine CoastGuard, and the Departmentof Foreign Affairs.

Late last February, DOTCUndersecretary MariaElena H. Bautista proposedbefore the Department ofLabor and Employment theabolishment of the MTC,which mainly accreditshundreds of training cen-ters for seafarers in thePhilippines. She added thatit should be Marina actingas the central maritimeadministrator.

However, the DOLE hasrejected the DOTC initia-tives stating that the Labordepartment is recognizedglobally as the lead agencyin regulating the place-ments of all overseas Fil-ipino workers including sea-farers. (Source: Balitang Mari-no)

Manning group calls for MTC abolition Maritime Training Council under fire for creating confusion

India’s shipping regulatorhas temporarily relaxed thestaffing, or so-called manningrequirements, for bulk carri-ers from four officers to threein an attempt to help theindustry tackle a shortage ofofficers.

The relaxation in manningrequirements will apply tothe so-called deck-side ofIndian registered bulk carri-ers and not to the engineer-ing side.

The country has around1,000 officers less than neces-sary, according to industryestimates.

The new rules will be triedout for six months.

The move by the Direc-torate General of Shipping, orDGS, will apply to the so-called deck-side (or manage-ment function) of Indian reg-istered bulk carriers, with acargo carrying capacity of lessthan 30,000 tons. Under thenew manning requirements,such ships will now have onemaster, one chief officer and asecond officer. The require-ment for a third officer hasbeen scrapped. On the engi-neering side, the existingmanning requirements offour officers will continue.

Apart from helping themtackle a shortage of officers,the move will also help ship-ping companies save around$5,000 a month in terms ofthe salary paid to an officer.

And because shippingfirms that operate more thanone ship need to keep a cer-tain number of reserve offi-cers on their rolls (this num-ber, too, comes down propor-tionately), they can look for-ward to more savings.

DGS has said the reductionis applicable for both thedomestic and internationalmovements of dry bulk carri-ers. “The rate of accidentsand general efficiency ofadherence to nautical andsafety certification require-ments will be studied duringthis period to decide if thedispensation should beextended or made into anational regulation andrevised safe manning docu-ments should be issued, orshould be withdrawn,” DGSsaid in its order.

Ten years after its found-ing, the Maritime Academyof Asia and the Pacific(MAAP) has maintained itsmission and vision of accept-ing only top quality studentsfor enrollment in the coun-try’s premiere maritimeschool after passing a toughentrance examination. “Wecannot exchange quality forquantity,” said MAAP chair-man Eduardo Ma. R. Santos,a retired vice admiral andflag officer in command ofthe Philippine Navy.

Enrolling at MAAP for afive-year course either as adeck officer or marine engi-neer is difficult because themaritime school only accepts200 new students a yearfrom among the thousands ofstudents who take the toughentrance test. Santos cited asexample in 2001 wherein atotal of 4,591 studentsapplied for MAAP admissionbut only 173 were selectedfor training.

“Our principals (interna-tional shipping lines) need

54 more students, but wetold them that we can onlyaccept 200 students,” Santossaid.

For school year 2008-2009,MAAP plans to increase thenumber of applicants to10,000 by adding more test-ing centers all over the coun-try but they will still select

only 200 students for train-ing. The entrance examina-tion is so tough that it ispractically a survival of thefittest.

When asked if they areplanning to increase thenumber of cadets to beaccepted due to the risingdemand of internationalmaritime companies forqualified deck officers andmarine engineers, Santosinsisted that MAAP would

stick to its principle of pro-ducing only topnotch gradu-ates.

He said it is not a practicaldecision to increase the num-ber of students as they onlyhave sufficient facilities andinstructors for 200 candi-dates.

Santos said they would

never sacrifice quality in thetraining of maritime cadetsbecause MAAP prides itselfas “the leading institution ofexcellence in maritime edu-cation and training in theAsia-Pacific region andbeyond.” MAAP is also com-mitted “for the developmentof competent seafarers whoshall possess the character,knowledge, and skills neces-sary for the successful pur-suit of a maritime career,” he

added.He pointed out that it

would be much better forMAAP to produce few buttop caliber graduates than atraining center that producesmore but fails to meet inter-national maritime stan-dards.

The MAAP chair addedthat the 200 who managed topass are the “best and thebrightest out of the thou-sands who applied.”

MAAP is one of the mar-itime institutions that housetheir students in dormitoriesat their sprawling 18-hectarecomplex in Mariveles,Bataan some 150 kilometersnorth of Manila.

The Associated MarineOfficers and Seamen’s Unionof the Philippines (AMO-SUP), which has a 75,000membership, operate it. Stu-dents accepted for MAAPtraining have only twoweeks vacation a yearbecause of their lengthy andrigorous training. (Source:Balitang Marino)

Top RP maritime school chooses quality over quantity

India implementsunsafe manningregulation

In 2001...of a total of 4,591 students [who]

applied for MAAP admission, only 173 were

selected for training.

(3)MAY/JUNE 2008 SEAFARERS’ CORNER

VOICES from SEAFARERS

We wish that the free e-mail access as provided by theJSU/AMOSUP CBA be implemented as soon as possible for usto enjoy. We thank the JSU for the upgrade in our wages andworking conditions, the reading materials and the souvenirswe received.

Crewmembers of M/V CAPE AZALEA

We thank the JSU for the regular visitation by the Union Offi-cers and the updates we get. We are looking forward to theirnext visit.

For every crewmember, the hardship andboredom can be relieved by someone who visitsthem onboard and I am thanking the JSUUnion Officers and JSU ISS staff for theireffort of regular visitation to their memberswhenever a ship docks here in Japan.

Providing useful information and the latestupdates on our JSU agreement, checking ourliving and working condition aboard is animportant task that the Union Officers give us.Again, may I say many thanks and good luck,you are serving us as our protector.

CAPT. Efren P. CagatinMaster of M/V SHIN HEIRYU

Pray For Life

With the storm raging, thecaptain realized his ship wassinking fast.

He called out, “Does any-one here know how to pray?”

One of the crewmembersstepped forward. “Yes, Cap-tain, I pray a lot.”

“Good,” said the captain.“You pray while the rest of usget out on life jackets. We’reone short.”

Submitted by: ISS JohnCanto

Custody Fight

A seaman and his wifewere getting a divorce at alocal court, but the custody oftheir children posed a prob-lem.

The mother jumped to herfeet and protested to thejudge that since she hadbrought the children into thisworld, she should retain cus-tody of them.

The seaman also wantedcustody of his children, so thejudge asked for his side of thestory.

After a long moment ofsi lence, the seaman rosefrom his chair and replied:“Your honor, when I put a dol-lar into a vending machine,and a Pepsi comes out, doesthe Pepsi belong to me or tothe machine?”

Don’t laugh...he won!

Submitted by: Hero

JOKE CORNER

Crewmembers of M/V MOL PARTNER

By William Mambalo JSU ISS

Almost everyone is familiarwith pain relief formulas.Known as “Non-Steroidal

Anti-Inflammatory Drugs”(NSAIDs), a few commonly knownnames include Aspirin, Ibuprofen,Advil, Motrin as well as prescrip-tion products like Celebrex, Vioxx,Daypro and more.

Here’s something you might notknow about common pain relief…

Thousands of people are hospi-talized annually for non-steroidalanti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-related gastrointestinal (GI) com-plications and also thousands ofNSAID-related deaths occur eachyear among arthritis patientsalone. The figures of all NSAIDusers would be overwhelming, yet

the scope of this problem is gener-ally under-appreciated.

These toxic effects remain main-ly a “silent epidemic,” with manyphysicians and most patientsunaware of the magnitude of theproblem.

It is important to note that mostpeople have no warning signs thatthese drugs are causing internaldamage before they end up in thehospital in serious condition.

A Related Story: On May 15,2008, the three International Ser-vice Staff from JSU Kanto Region-al Branch visited the PCC vesselGrand Race berthed in Daikoku,Yokohama Port.

An expected routine meetingwith the crew turned out to be anemergency action for support to aFilipino Chief Cook needing imme-

diate medical assistance. Walkingwith a cane and discharging bloodystool, the Chief Cook was beingsent to the hospital by the Captainjust to have a (doctor’s) secondopinion since a doctor alreadychecked him when the vessel wasin Toyohashi Port.

Allegedly, the Korean captaindidn’t want the Chief Cook repatri-ated, as the vessel was about toleave in a few hours.

With the coordination of the JSUISS, the ship’s company was con-tacted and requested to providethe Chief Cook necessary medicalattention. Immediately, ChiefCook Carlos V. Golfo was admittedto the Yokohama Fureai Hospitaldue to abdominal bleeding.

Upon knowledge of his internalbleeding, the doctor in Fureai Hos-pital had subjected him to a series

of medical check-ups, such ascolonoscopy, to view the entireinner lining of his intestine.

After determining that he was inserious condition, the doctor con-fined him and administered bloodtransfusion (800cc) as his bloodplatelet count was very low.

At the time of writing, ChiefCook’s discharge of bloody stoolhad lightly subsided.

According to the doctor, he needsto stay at the hospital for one ortwo weeks more until his fullrecovery from the abdominal prob-lem.

What caused the Chief Cook’sbloody stool? Since he was feelingsevere pain on his right leg, maybedue to arthritis, he took painrelievers without a doctor’s pre-scription or guidance, leading himto suffer abdominal bleeding.

Beware of pain relievers: NSAID complications

I thank the JSU for its effort inrecovering my back wages frommy previous vessel.

I also thank the JSU Filipinostaff for a job well done.

Oiler Gliny FlaresM/V ESPERANZA II

Crewmembers of M/V MIYABI

As all of us have a hard time going out to shore, we welcome the visitation byJSU staff who inform us of our rights and benefits under the JSU agreement.

I was thinking about howpeople seem to read the Biblea whole lot more as they getolder; then it dawned onme—they’re cramming fortheir final exam.

– George Carlin –1937-

American Comedian

(4) MAY/JUNE 2008INFORMATION/ADVISORIES

ALL JAPAN SEAMEN’S UNION

15-26, Roppongi 7-Chome,Minato-Ku, Tokyo 106-0032

Tel.: (03) 5410-8320Fax: (03) 5410-8336E-mail: iss@jsu.jpInternet: http://www.jsu.or.jp

Publisher: Takashi Miyake

Send inquiries to the attention ofMr. Masanobu Makizoe,Director, Foreign Trades Dept.

IGA, From Page 1

late in the evening in theUnited States, people wereecstatic over the decision.

The gap of some US$40,000was paid in Hawaii.

IGA welcomed in Japan

On April 15, IGA arrived atthe Port of Yokohama fromHawaii.

From the JSU, ITF Coordi-nator Shoji Yamashita andEduardo Galang welcomedIGA crewmembers. Whenthey met the ship’s SouthKorean master, however, heexploded in anger, claimingthat JSU did not do anythingfor his crew.

Now that the owner of IGAhas concluded the ITF-JSUagreement, the master was

told that wages would increase,that welfare would improve,

and that crewmembers wouldbe able to begin using an e-mail service, while effortswould be made to improve thequality of foodstuffs.

When Yamashita andGalang entered the crew’ssalon to give briefings, thecrewmen were very happy,expecting that IGA wouldenter a new stage as a resultof the conclusion of the agree-ment.

In Japan, the JSU and theITF work together, havinghad 90 percent of Japaneseshipowners conclude the ITF-JSU agreement.

When Yamashita andGalang said that they weregrateful and respectful tocrewmembers for understand-ing ITF-JSU-AMOSUP, thecrew burst into applause.

We are very gratefulto you non-domi-ciled special mem-

bers, for continuing to oper-ate ships safely around theclock.

Today, we would like toinform you about the JSUnon-domiciled membershipfees, as we receive manyinquiries about them.

The fees are paid – inaccordance with the JSU con-stitutions and those for non-domiciled members – by non-Japanese seamen withoutresident status in Japan whowork onboard commercialvessels to which the followingagreements are applied: theIBF JSU/AMOSUP-IMMAJCBA, IBF JSU/PSU-IMMAJCA, IBF JSU-IMMAJ CA,ITF-JSU/AMOSUP CBA,ITF-JSU CA, JSU/AMOSUPCBA for Japanese Flag,JSU/PSU CA for JapaneseFlag, JSU CA for JapaneseFlag, and JSU CA for nearsea.

The fees are used to carryout various activities to pro-tect the rights and employ-ment of non-domiciled mem-bers and to improve laborconditions.

Articles written in laboragreements are not bindingunless negotiation with theJSU has taken place.

Only when the JSU nego-tiates and conclude con-tracts with oceangoing ship-ping service providers, willthey become legally effec-tive, having conditions onthe following items appliedto you, such as wages, fixedovertime payments, guaran-teed overtime payments,retirement pay plans, andprovident funds.

We need to promote activi-ties jointly with the ITF,including FOC and POCcampaigns, which are con-ducted to apply the ITFAgreement to more ships.And to this end, much morework and time needs to bespent.

The non-domiciled mem-bership fees, which we col-lect from you, are used tofinancially support unionactivities.

Thus, please understandthat the fees will not berefunded when you retire.

Letterfrom JSUHeadquarters With the five-year span of

the first International ShipSecurity Certificates (ISSC)now reaching an end, andwith the prospect of re-vali-dation looming, the pressureto apply the basics of mar-itime security has never beenmore pressing.

Sadly it seems many shipsare still failing to properlyimplement the most funda-mental requirement of mar-itime security – that of effec-tively policing access to thevessel. In fact according toThe United States Coast-guard (USCG), 33 percent ofsecurity deficiencies havebeen related directly to vesselaccess, and they havestressed that, “Access controlis the cornerstone of a securi-ty regime and the most sensi-tive part of any securityarrangement is the facility-to-ship interface.”

The message remains clearthen, that all access to ves-sels must be controlled, mon-itored and supervised, and itis vitally important that per-sonnel know how to controlaccess, when to act, who toallow onboard and who todeny, all while keeping ade-quate and proper records.

In order to assist theseefforts and to give clear andsimple advice to seafarerswith security duties, Shiptalkhas begun a series of Securi-ty Guides with the first enti-tled, “Shipboard Access Con-trol.”

According to Shiptalk man-aging director, Capt. ThomasBrown, “the fact that shipsare still being detained fornot applying the very basicsof maritime security is huge-ly concerning, especiallygiven that deficiencies couldsee many ISSC’s not being

revalidated. As such itappears that the basics ofsecurity need to be stressedto all personnel, and that isexactly what this new guidedelivers.”

The aim of the guide is toreally help crews to achievemore, and to allow them tofeel confident to act, tounderstand their role and thehuge importance it carries,all written in basic termsthat can easily be understoodeven if English is their sec-ond language.

The guidance within “Ship-board Access Control” isbased on the requirements ofthe ISPS Code, and also bestindustry practice – it pro-vides background guidance towork in tandem with theShip Security Plan (SSP) foreach vessel, while encourag-ing personnel to ask ques-tions and to engage in discus-

sions on how gangway andaccess control is managed.

As we know, the gangwaywatch is the most visible partof any security regime – it isalso where mistakes aremade.

Controlling access is notsimply about being the firstline of defense it is also thefirst aspect of security to beassessed by port and FlagState, and by law enforce-ment agencies – so it isimportant we get it right,and “Shipboard Access Con-trol” can help seafarers dojust that.

“Shipboard Access Control”by Steven Jones (ISBN 978-0-9556513-3-5) is availablefrom Shiptalk priced £10 forsingle copies (with bulk andfleet discounts available),email: enquiries@shiptalk.com or visit www.shiptalk.com for more details.

The crewmembers of IGA listen to Shoji Yamashita, ITFcoordinator, explaining their backwages and their newagreement under the JSU.

The U.S. Coast Guard proposes torequire crewmembers on foreign com-mercial vessels en route to U.S. ports oralongside, to carry and present ondemand acceptable identification whenin U.S. navigable waters. The proposedrequirements also cover crewmemberson U.S. commercial vessels arrivingfrom a foreign port or place.

Acceptable identification means apassport; a U.S. Permanent ResidentCard; a U.S. merchant mariner’s docu-

ment; a U.S. Transportation WorkerIdentification Credential (TWIC); or aSeafarer’s Identification Document(SID) issued in accordance with Inter-national Labor Organization (ILO) Sea-farers’ Identification Documents Con-vention (Revised), 2003 (ILO 185).

Crew may secure the identificationwith the master, so long as it can be pre-sented on demand. The vessel operatorwould be required to ensure that crew arein compliance.

Violations may subject the marinerand the vessel operator to civil penalties.In addition, control measures may betaken against the vessel.

Such requirements, if implemented,would apply even if the crewmembernever departs the vessel while it is inthe U.S. If the crewmember intends togo ashore in the U.S., all of the currentimmigration requirements (particularlythe U.S. visa requirement) will apply.(Source: Shiptalk)

Security advice for the frontline: back to basics

U.S. proposes tighter crew identification requirements

The Customs and BorderProtection (CBP) are takingan interest in respect of thoseinvolved in crew changes whodo not join their ship immedi-ately on entering the U.S., orwho are not repatriatedimmediately on signing off.

It has long been expectedby the CBP that departingcrew will leave the U.S. onthe next available flight butmembers should understand

that the CBP’s current direc-tive is that off-signing crewmust depart the country thesame day they are signed offthe ship.

Crew that do not depart/-arrive the same day theyleave/join the ship will sub-ject owners/crew managerswith a fine of US$3,300 percrewmember.

In the interest of safety andcrew welfare, some operators

are understood to have a poli-cy of giving officers a night’srest in a hotel after flyingbefore joining their ships.Such policies and actions willnow result in fines beingimposed. In cases where thearrival date of a ship is notcertain, members will findthis regulation particularlyunfair as it is normal practiceto get crew to their joiningports in good time in order

not to miss the ship. Members should not expect

the authorities to be lenienton this matter as it has beennoticed that the number offines issued nationwide bythe CBP has increased. Ithas also been noticed thatthe CBP are now issuingfines for infractions thatwould have previously war-ranted no more than a warn-ing.

CBP directive calls for immediate departure of off-signing crew