Representatives from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) boarded Ever Given on the Suez Canal’s Great Bitter Lake on Sunday for a crew welfare check.
The health and welfare check comes because the ship remains anchored in the Suez Canal and is being detained by the canal authorities for $ 916 million in damages. Ever Given has been anchored in Great Bitter Lake since the ship was lifted on March 29.
The ITF reports that the ship’s crew is “in good spirits”, has adequate provisions and is up to date with their wages.
“We are delighted to inform the world that the Ever Given crew are in good spirits and doing well. The crew were delighted to see the ITF’s Egyptian union officials greet them and express the solidarity of the global seafaring family, ”said Mohamed Arrachedi, coordinator of ITF Arab World and Iran Network.
“The crew is understandably sensitive at this point, waiting to see what will happen with arguments between authorities and other parties. They are eager to sail, or know they can go home to see their families if the ship cannot leave Egypt soon. They are relieved that the ITF is on their side, ”said Arrachedi.
The ITF also reported that no seafaring wages or contract violations were found and that all crew members had received their wages for March. The crew also had adequate food supplies and delivered devices that allow the crew to connect to the internet.
“We have been in contact with the crew and there were no welfare problems for the time being. We will continue to monitor the situation and the crew know that we are available to provide support as needed, ”said Arrachedi.
The seafarers on board are represented by the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI). The ship is said to have 25 crew members, although the Suez Canal Authority reported last week that two crew members were allowed to return home for “urgent” personal matters.
“We urge the Egyptian authorities to make it clear that all Ever Given 25 crew members are allowed to depart at the normal conclusion of their contracts,” said NUSI Secretary General Abdulgani Y Serang. “We cannot have a situation where the crew is effectively held hostage, as financial negotiations that the seafarers do not engage in continue between the parties.”
David Heindel, Chair of the ITF Seafarers’ Section, highlighted the plight of seafarers during the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
“First the pandemic and then the crisis of crew changes turned seafarers’ lives upside down, especially when governments introduced blanket travel and border restrictions. Some seafarers are detained for more than a year while working on the same ships after their original contract, ”said Heindel.
“We must not forget that it was seafarers who kept the world through the worst health and economic crises we faced by Covid. Many of those seafarers would rightly be quite angry if, after all their sacrifice, their profession is unfairly associated with an event that is clearly beyond their control, ”Heindel added.
“It is time to treat seafarers as key figures with the respect they deserve – and we can start by bringing every crew member from the Ever Given home to their families when signing their respective contracts,” he said.