Vol. 18 No. 1 January/February 2021

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Voicesfrom theSeafarers
Page 4

JSU decides on action policies

Nat’l Assembly calls for cabotage regs, change shifts under COVID-19 crisis, others

Requests made at year-end to Kaiji Shinko Renmei, JSU meets with Kaiji Shinko Renmei leader Seishiro Eto
MLIT, and other ministries and political parties
Outline of requests: Mr. Yasumi Morita
submits to the MAFF important requests toconstruct newbuildings to replace existingfishing vessels, manage fishery resources, eliminate illegal fishing, secure and foster successors
to fishing boat crew members, promote whaling and address COVID-19 (i.e., allowing
crew members to smoothly go on board ships
and come ashore).

T

he All Japan Seamen’s Union(JSU) on Dec. 23, 2020 submitted to governmental ministries and political parties thepolicy challenges it had come up with at the
81st annual national assembly it had convened earlier. The action was made by Mr.
Yasumi Morita, president of the JSU; othermembers of the union’s Central Executive
Board Committee; and shop stewards from
employers.
The JSU agreed on new action policies
at its 81st annual national assembly. The
policy challenges set in accordance with theaction policies were filed with Kaiji Shinko
Renmei, an association of Diet members
who promote maritime affairs; the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport andTourism (MLIT); the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF); theMinistry of Defense (MOD), the Ministryof Internal Affairs and Communications(MIC); the Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT);
the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) andKomeito. More specifically, a written document containing all relevant requests was
handed over (jointly with Zenkoku Kaiyu
Fujinkai, an organization of family members of those who work at sea) to the representatives of these ministries and politicalparties. The JSU also gave detailed explanations on each of the requests.
Submission of requests
When the requests were made with Kaiji
Shinko Renmei, the governmental organizations and the political parties, Mr. Morita
led a delegation of other JSU executives andshop stewards. The policy challenges facing
shipping and seafarers were submitted to
the representatives of Kaiji Shinko Renmai,
the governmental ministries and the parties. A document of requests was handed
over for the policy challenges that JSU had
formulated according to the decisions it
made at its annual national assembly. The
union gave lectures in detail on each of therequests. To help its members who are on
duty at sea, the JSU indicated the requests
were made desperately by such on-site
workers and their families.
Kaiji Shinko Renmei
Mr. Morita handed over a document ofrequests for the various policy challenges facing shipping and seafarers to Mr.
Seishiro Eto, head of Kaiji Shinko Renmei. Major requests that JSU made wereto maintain the regulations on cabotage,
designate Marine Day on a regularly set
day and smoothly replace seafarers withothers under the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. At a time when the novel coronavirus
outbreak is having a growing impact, crew
members cannot be replaced easily—on
board oceangoing and deep-sea fishingboats, in particular—due to entry andmovement restrictions made by governments. In some case, they are forced tostay on board vessels for a very long periodof time, ending up becoming ill mentally
and/or physically. Their rights are being violated, too. The union also wanted
Kaiji Shinko Renmei to promote efforts
to secure and cultivate seafarer successors,develop information and communication
infrastructure and ensure the safety of seamen and ship operations.
MLIT
The JSU made several important requests
to the MLIT, asking the ministry to maintain the cabotage regulations, for example.
The union also wanted the government ofJapan to take the initiative in promoting
efforts to secure and raise seafarers. The
MLIT was also asked to enhance public
relations activities on maritime affairs tomake the general public more knowledgable about the ocean, introduce a system
to help seafarers change places with otherssmoothly and give support to ferries andpassenger crafts.
Mr. Hideo Onishi, MLIT state minister, demonstrated the basic recognition
that Japan cannot exist as a maritime nation without shipping. Having said that,
he added that it is necessary to constructa framework to gain all-out cooperation to
encourage the general public to know more
about the sea and fix Marine Day on July
20. As for actions against piracy, the Japan
Coast Guard (JCG) will continue to work
hard, he said.
Mr. Shinichiro Otsubo, director-generalof the MLIT’s Maritime Bureau, commented on the practical efforts the ministry
is making to accommodate JSU’s requests.
The MLIT is now working on programs tohelp Japanese citizens better understand theimportance of the sea more, including public relations activities through social network
services.
MAFF
To the MAFF, the JSU has demanded that
actions be taken to construct newbuildings
Continued on Page 4

Mr. Yasumi Morita, President of JSU (second from left) hands over requests to Mr.
Seishiro Eto, head of Kaiji Shinko Renmei (third from right). From left: Mr. Hiroyuki
Tachikawa, director-general of the JSU’s Policy Bureau; Mr. Yasumi Morita, president of
the JSU; Mr. Seishiro Eto, head of Kaiji Shinko Renmei; Mr. Kohei Ooi, a shop steward
from Tokai Kisen; and Mr. Fumiyoshi Abe, a shop steward from Nippon Yusen Kaisha.

JSU meets with MLIT State Minister Hideo Onishi

Mr. Yasumi Morita, President of JSU (third from left) hands over requests to Mr. Hideo
Onishi, MLIT state minister (third from right). From left: Mr. Hiroyuki Tachikawa, directorgeneral of the JSU’s Policy Bureau; Mr. Fumiyoshi Abe, a shop steward from Nippon
Yusen Kaisha; Mr. Yasumi Morita, president of the JSU; Mr. Hideo Onishi, MLIT state minister; Mr. Seishiro Eto, head of Kaiji Shinko Renmei; and Mr. Kohei Ooi, a shop steward
from Tokai Kisen.

JSU meets with MAFF Minister Kotaro Nogami

Mr. Yasumi Morita, President of JSU (third from left) hands over requests to Mr. Kotaro Nogami MAFF minister (third from right). From left: Mr. Hiroyuki Tachikawa, directorgeneral of the JSU’s Policy Bureau; Mr. Shintaro Takeda, a shop steward from Kyodo
Senpaku; Mr. Yasumi Morita, president of the JSU; Mr. Kotaro Nogami, MAFF minister;
Mr. Seishiro Eto, a member of the House of Representatives; and Mr. Kenji Takahashi,
director-general of the JSU’s Fisheries Affairs Bureau.

MARITIME NEWS(2)JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021

RP top court condemns sexual harassment at sea

Ruling on the case of aFilipino seafarer, theSupreme Court said it
is high time to recognize the risk of sexual harassment
faced by male sailors.
The SC made the pronouncement in a July 8 decision partly
granting the petition of a male seafarer who was sexually harassed by
the chief officer while he was employed aboard a ship in 2014.
"The Supreme Court held it was
high-time to correct the society’s
notion that women are the weakersex and the only victims of sexual
harassment because this is discriminatory against men who havesuffered the same plight," the SC
Public Information Office said.

"Sexual harassment is not an issue of gender but an issue of power," it added.
In the ruling, the court's Third
Division ordered ship management company Anglo-Eastern andits crew management arm in thePhilippines to pay the petitioner
US$1,389.20 (P66791.21) for theunexpired portion of his contract.
The court also reinstated the awardof P100,000 in moral damages,
P50,000 in exemplary damages,
and attorney's fees worth 10% of
the total monetary award.
The petitioner, who was hired asa messman, had accused the chief
officer of demanding that he perform sexual acts on him on two
occasions. Two co-workers cor-roborated his account when hefiled a complaint, according to the
SC PIO.
The chief officer threatened tokill the messman when he learned
about the complaint, the SC PIO
said. When the messman was repatriated in July 2014, the company
physician found that he was sexually harassed and physically abusedby the chief officer.
He was diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder fourmonths later.
The seafarer filed a labor complaint in the Philippines. The Labor Arbiter granted him moral andexemplary damages but said he
could not claim disability benefits
because he failed to meet reporto-

rial requirements. The National
Labor Relations Commission, on
appeal, deleted the award for damages.
The seafarer also lost in the
Court of Appeals, prompting him
to take his case to the SC.
The SC PIO said the court recognized the petitioner "sufferedsome form of injury" but did notgrant him disability benefits due toa lack of evidence that he was "permanently and totally disabled."
Saying the case is unique because a mental health condition is
involved, the SC explained that thepetitioner "should not be blamedfor belatedly seeking medical help
considering his dire financial condition is a factor.""The Court said that it recognized that it takes time for victimsof sexual harassment to come forward, especially so if the victim isa male due to several factors likestigma, sense of loss of masculinity, and fear of being perceived ashomosexual," the SC PIO said.
"The Court also held that wemust change the notion that injuries refer to only the physical kind,as they can come in many forms
like emotional or psychological.
It is high-time that we recognize
sexual harassment on board vessels
as a risk faced by our seafarers," it
added.
A copy of the decision was not
immediately available. (Source:
GMA News )UN agency finds governments in breach of int’l law
In a landmark ruling the International Labor Organization (ILO)
has found that governments havebreached seafarers’ rights andfailed to comply with several provisions of the Maritime Labour
Convention (MLC) 2006 during
the Covid-19 pandemic, including Article I(2) on the duty tocooperate.
The UN agency has called onstates to recognise seafarers as key
workers “without delay”.

In the first ruling of its kind,the committee of 20 jurists foundthat governments have failed abjectly to protect the minimum
standards for the protection ofseafarers’ rights, as set out in international law under the MLC.
This includes basic rights such asaccess to healthcare, repatriation,
annual leave and shore leave.
The finding follows submissions made by the International
Transport Workers’ Federation(ITF) and of the International
Chamber of Shipping (ICS).
The findings have been sent tonational governments. Currently
just 46 UN member nations recognise seafarers as key workers.
More than 800,000 seafarers
have been hit by the crew change
crisis this year – whether stuck atsea, or sitting at home and out of
pocket.
Responding to the ILO ruling,
ITF general secretary Stephen

Cotton and ICS secretary general
Guy Platten issued a joint statement, noting: “This ruling clearlysets out that it is both legally andmorally wrong for countries tocontinue to expect seafarers towork indefinitely, supplying theworld with food, medicine andvital supplies, while depriving
them of their fundamental rights
as seafarers, as workers, and as humans.”
Cotton and Platten went on

to say: “Once again a roadmap
has been laid out for how to resolve this humanitarian crisis andreturn to a normally functioning crew change system that theworld’s supply chains can rely on.
It’s up to governments to get on
with implementing that roadmap
and urgently prioritise seafarers
as key workers for Covid-19 vaccines as a clear demonstration ofcompliance with this finding.”(Source: Splash)

Rapid COVID tests answer for smooth crew change
The crew change crisis continues
to build with Covid-19 being amoving target. Latest mutationsof the virus have now travelledfrom UK, South Africa and Brazil to the USA, as well as othercountries. Progress has certainly
been made by the latest initiative of The Neptune Declarationand is a positive collaborative step
amongst stakeholders to bring
forth the issues faced by our seafarers. Nonetheless, some of the
protocols suggested in the declaration are still not airtight.
One of the primary factors incombatting the COVID pandemic is the ability to identify carriersof the virus. With many exhibiting no signs of infection, timing
is critical. What is needed for anindustry where scheduling is in-herently important, the ability to
immediately clear a crew or port
workers as COVID free is paramount.
Take for instance the 72-hour
PCR test done before boarding
the aircraft or the need to transport crew members to “clinics”
to get tested or the lack of testing
done at quarantine hotels. Whatabout instances where crew can
get infected on the plane, at the
airport, in the agent’s car, at theclinic, at the hotel or during their
final transit to the vessel? How
does the gangway crew know for
certain that the person entering the vessel is indeed Covid19
free? Does the Master of the vessel
have the certainty that the pilot
who brought the vessel alongside
was free of Covid19, despite fur-nishing a 72-hour old certificate?
Most importantly, have viral mutations been identified by the testing method in use?
“Gold standard best practices”
that insist on the existing 72-hour
pre-testing requirements before
boarding a vessel or airplane havemassive security gaps in them. One
needs to be tested just prior toboarding to be effective, not threedays without supervision. Andeven these requirements are different around the world, providing apatchwork of more gaps that givethe virus plenty of opportunities tospread. The ONLY way to beat thisvirus is to break its chain of infection, as was successfully demonstrated by New Zealand and Singapore and some smaller islands.
Tests should be non-invasive, atthe point of entry and exit of a vessel, giving instant results, allowing
for appropriate isolation action,
within minutes and not after a gapof hours or days.
But there is a solution. We
need to be able to test everyone
who enters or exits a vessel with ahighly accurate, non-invasive test
kit that gives results within 3-15
minutes with 100% specificity
and zero false negatives. This provides much higher confidence toport jurisdictions about control
of Covid19 onboard and helps
in easing crew movement restrictions. After all, this is a crisis ofconfidence, not just protocol.
Vaccines have been developed,
but there is still a long way togo for the world population to
be vaccinated—and realistically,

with little certainty that we will
be able to vaccinate everyone.
There is also uncertainty on thelongevity, effectiveness or known
after-effects of any of the vaccines. Therefore, it is likely thatthe maritime industry will haveto live with Covid19 for another9-12 months at the least. In short,
now is NOT the time for us to relax our guard, even though somevaccines have been developed andare being rolled out.
Testing still needs to continue
aggressively, and with major improvements such as those offeredby the Rapid Antigen Test Kit.
Lab work that takes hours or days
to get results is far too long, andthe process cumbersome. We
need instant results now. (Source:
SPLASH)NGO report cites lives continued to be lost in Bangladesh shipbreaking
At least five workers have losttheir lives while dismantling out
of service ships at shipbreaking facilities in Bangladesh in the final
quarter of 2020, the latest quarterly report from the NGO Shipbreaking Platform shows.
Two workers fell to their deaths
while dismantling two different
vessels.
In one of the cases, local sources
reported that the cutting process
was happening at a very fast pacesince the workers were under pressure to quickly finish the job.
Two additional men died after falling sick at Janata Steel andMother Steel shipbreaking yards,
however, the cause of their deaths
remains unclear.
Finally, a 35-year old man lost
his life after being hit by a large
iron piece at Khawja shipbreaking
yard in Chattogram, Bangladesh.
In 2020, at least four accidents
were reported at shipbreaking

yards owned by Kabir Steel group.
The NGO Shipbreaking Platform publishes quarterly reports
denouncing dirty and dangerous
practices, such as the dumping of
end-of-life vessels on the beaches
of developing countries.
The platform has been very
critical of the unsafe ship-breaking
methods at yards in South Asia as
they continue to cause toxic waste
being released on the beaches causing maritime pollution.

Poor work safety practices areoften cited as the main cause of theincidents that occur at shipbreaking yards in South Asia.
Almost one-third of the ships
sold to South Asia in Q3 changed
flag to the registries of Comoros,
Gabon, Palau and St. Kitts andNevis just weeks before hitting thebeach.
As explained, these flags are nottypically used during the operational life of ships and offer ‘last voyage

registration’ discounts. They areparticularly popular with the middlemen scrap-dealers that purchasevessels cash from ship owners, andare grey- and black-listed due totheir poor implementation of international maritime law.
The reflagging is often used tocircumvent EU rules on breaking
ships at facilities that are safe andenvironmentally sound, which often means they are more expensive.
(Source: World Maritime News)HEALTH & FITNESSJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021

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On-board Exercises
Actress Kaoru Yumi presents the Nishino Breathing Method

無
無
辺
辺

Muhen—Imagine that energy that is generated from theTanden (lower abdomen)—a very important part of thehuman body—circles around and extends peripherally.

While feeling the warmth and presence of the Tanden (lower abdomen) throughthe palm, turn the head gently and comfortably. In doing Muhen, you can inhale
and exhale naturally. Fully relax your neck and shoulders. Muhen can alleviatetension in your shoulders and help clear your head.

1. Stand in a relaxed position
with your feet shoulder-widthapart. Position your hands on
your lower abdomen.

While exhaling through your mouth, turn your head counterclockwise slowly. Make a full turn as shown in 3 through 9.
3.

4.

6.

11. Breathe out through yourmouth. Rotate your headclockwise slowly. Do a few
set of actions as shown in 2
through 11.

10. Breathe in through yournose. Slowly turn your head up
this time to your upper left.

12. Raise your head slowly toreturn to your starting position.

7.

2. While inhaling through yournose, rotate your head up to
your upper right. Keep paying
attention to your lower abdomen so as not to raise or put astrain on your shoulders.

5.

9. Try to finish exhaling whencompleting the circular motionof head.

8.

Institute of Nishino Breathing Method
Email:
info@nishinojuku.com
Internet:

https://www.nishinojuku.com/english/e_top.html

SEAFARERS’ CORNER/NEWSJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021

Officers and crew of MV SUNRISE DRAGON
Health is wealth. One of our safety measures in evading
infection from any disease is exercise. At the start of thisyear and all through the years, may we ask everybody tostay safe and healthy.

Officers and crew of MV ZAMPA BLUE
Happy New Year to all! We wish you all the best ofhealth and safety of environment.

Officers and crew of MV ATLANTIC ISLAND
Greetings of prosperous New Year and we wish eachand everyone good health and safety all through the years.
Happy New Year!!!

Officers and crew of MV MELODIA
Clear and strong signal of the internet had connected
us to our families throughout the holidays. Information
about their safety from the pandemic had eased our anxieties and thus we’re convinced to stay on board till the endof our contracts. Greetings to all with a happy new year!!

Officers and crew of MV MARTORELL
We came up to the conclusion of wishing the covid-19
virus to disappear so that we could live in a safe wide
world. On this special occasion, let us applause ourselveswith a happy new year!!

(4)

VOICES from SEAFARERS

Officers and crew of MV YM SUMMIT
Happy New Year to our fellow seafarers out there. Always stay safe and God bless us all.

Gulf of Guinea the new Somalia as kidnappings soarThe International Chamberof Commerce’s International
Maritime Bureau (IMB)’s annual piracy report recorded anincrease of piracy and armed robbery incidents in 2020 with the Gulf of Guinea theclear hotspot as kidnappings off West Africa
approach Somalia levels from a decade ago.
In 2020, IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre(PRC) received 195 incidents of piracy andarmed robbery against ships worldwide, incomparison to 162 in 2019. The incidents
included three hijacked vessels, 11 vessels
fired upon, 20 attempted attacks, and 161
vessels boarded. The rise is attributed to anincrease of piracy and armed robbery reported within the Gulf of Guinea as well as

increased armed robbery activity in the Singapore Straits.
Globally, 135 crew were kidnapped fromtheir vessels in 2020, with the Gulf of Guinea accounting for over 95% of crew numbers kidnapped. A record 130 crew members
were kidnapped in 22 separate incidents.
Since 2019, the Gulf of Guinea has experienced an unprecedented rise in the numberof multiple crew kidnappings. In the lastquarter of 2019 alone, the Gulf of Guinea
recorded 39 crew kidnapped in two separate
incidents.
Incidents in the Gulf of Guinea are particularly dangerous as over 80% of attackers
were armed with guns, according to the latest IMB figures. All three vessel hijackingsand nine of the 11 vessels fired upon in 2020
related to this region. Crew kidnappings
were reported in 25% of vessel attacks in the
Gulf of Guinea – more than any other region in the world. Once kidnapped, crew areremoved from their vessel and can be heldon shore until their release is negotiated. The
furthest crew kidnapping in 2020 occurredalmost 200 nautical miles (NM) from landwith the average kidnapping incident taking
place over 60 NM from land, according to
IMB.
The rise in kidnapping incidents further
away from shorelines demonstrates the increasing capabilities of pirates in the Gulf
of Guinea. Given these developments, IMB
advises vessels in the region to remain at least

250 NM from the coast at all times, or untilthe vessel can transit to commence cargo operations at a berth or safe anchorage.
Security consultants Dryad Global, in a
recent report, noted that the shift in West
African maritime criminal modus operandi
and growing concern about maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea has promptedinternational efforts to boost regional naval
capacity, including recent procurements ofmaritime-patrolling equipment by Angola,
Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Nigeria andSenegal, among others.
Active criminal syndicates continue totrawl the seas off West Africa in the opening
two weeks of 2021 looking for easy ransom
targets. (Source: Splash)

Action Policies: Gov’t agrees to cooperate
Continued from Page 4
to replace existing fishing vessels,
manage fishery resources, eliminate illegal fishing, secure andfoster successors of fishing vesselcrew members, promote whaling and address the novel coronavirus outbreak (i.e., allowing
crew members to smoothly go on
board ships and come ashore).
The JSU suggested that theministry give guidance not to sell

to overseas buyers the ships that
operators have constructed under
the government of Japan’s program
to produce lucrative fishing, simply because they are in a businessslump. In response, Mr. Kotaro
Nogami, MAFF minister, said
that he will have his ministry conduct relevant research and discuss
what to do. Currently, the construction of new ships to crack
down on illegal fishing activities ison the table, he indicated, adding

the ministry will deal appropriately with illegal fishing to ensure thesafety of crew members and reassure them. To secure and develop
future fishing boat crew members,
the minister said that a project has
been included in a budget draft
for fiscal 2021.
Mr. Hideaki Yamaguchi, director-general of the Fisheries
Agency, a unit under the MAFF,
said that to add more species tothe ongoing commercial whaling,

it is necessary for relevant parties
to conduct scientific research andarm themselves fully with knowledge to vie with international
public opinions. To ban ships
constructed under the aforementioned governmental programfrom being sold to overseas buyers and to how crewmembers go
onboard ships and come ashore
during the COVID-19 crisis, theagency intends to conduct research, the director-general said.

All JApAn SeAmen’S Union
15-26, Roppongi 7-Chome,
Minato-Ku, Tokyo 106-0032
Tel.: (03) 5410-8320
Fax: (03) 5410-8336
E-mail: iss@jsu.jp
Internet: http://www.jsu.or.jp
Publisher: Hiroyuki Tachikawa
Send inquiries to the attention of
Mr. Hiroyuki Watanabe,
Director, International Dept.