FLAG OF CONVENIENCE UNRELATED TO THE ISSUE OF MV "RENA"

By: Capt. Alvils

The other day, I read a press release from a group called – International Seafarers Action Center (ISAC)Philippines Foundation, commenting about the issue of MV”Rena”, a container ship, commanded by a Filipino master, that run aground somewhere along the coast of Tauranga, New Zealand, spilling hundreds of tons of oil into the sea.

“The evils in substandard shipping and in the Flag of Convenience system used by unscrupulous ship owners”, was the introductory statement of their article. It seems that they have associated the grounding and oil pollution accident with the Flag Of Convenience (FOC), which they presumed were all substandard ships.

“Oppose the Flag of Convenience system! Ensure decent work for seafarers! Keep our seas safe!” was how they ended their news bulletin. Their real motive behind the press release boggles the mind. Was it to aid the Filipino seafarers or just run after the foreign ship owners? If their intention is to “ensure decent work for seafarers”, then what they will attain in writing such article will be the opposite. Anyway, whoever are the people involve with this group definitely need a lesson about shipping and seafaring.

I was tasked by our organization to write a response not only to counter the irresponsible statement of this group but also to prevent diverting the public’s attention on what the real issue of MV “Rena” should be. Here’s the content of my letter:

Dear Sirs,

We, the officers and members of Association of Marine Officers and Ratings (AMOR) and its political arm, 1-SEAMAN, are very much appreciative of the concerns of International Seafarers Action Center (ISAC) Philippines foundation to the welfare and working conditions of Filipino seafarers, particularly in their lambasting of the attitude of racism and racial discrimination displayed by some rightist New Zealanders towards our fellow Filipino seafarers accused of destruction of their marine environment. However, you maybe barking at the wrong tree in saying that the root of all these evils are in the Flag Of Convenience (FOC) system practiced by foreign ship owners.

Allow us to explain to you, in a manner that you will easily understand, what FOC is all about. If a Japanese, American or European ship owner wishes to purchase a vessel and have it man by Filipino crew, they cannot do so because of the crewing restrictions imposed by their own country. American flag vessels are not allowed to employ seafarers other than American nationals, so are the Japanese and other foreign countries. In fact, even Philippine flag vessels are not allowed to hire foreign seafarers. There are, however, several small countries in the world, e.g. Liberia, Panama, Isle of Man, Marshal Is., St. Kitts, among others, that encourages employment of foreign nationals provided they are properly certificated under their flag. These countries are called the Flag Of Convenience (FOC). They provide convenience to ship owners by way of cheaper registration fees, minimal documentary requirements, less red tape, lower tax payments and the privilege to hire any seafarers they want.

It is not easy for a country to operate vessels under a flag of convenience system. Offices and flag safety inspectors, surveyors need to be stationed and established all over the world, vessels has to be regularly monitored, and surveyors need to conduct onboard flag state inspections to ensure their vessels pass the scrutiny of Port State Control (PSC). Strict compliance with all IMO conventions and regulations are just one of its mandatory requirements; besides having all their vessels class under the International Association of Classification Society (IACS).

The Philippine government, at one point, contemplated on converting the country to a flag of convenience for purposes of generating revenues. It failed because majority of our country’s registered vessels were found substandard and unsafe. IACS simply refused to class our sea crafts.

Indeed, there is evil in operating substandard ships. They’re the so called “floating coffins” and the main cause of most sea accidents and disasters. But you should not equate substandard ships to Flag Of Convenience. If all FOC ships are substandard, then none of them will be allowed to sail. The PSC of every countries, tasked to regulate shipping in their own ports, are so strict with the implementation and compliance with SOLAS, MARPOL 73/78, SOPEP, ISM CODE, ISPS CODE and STCW 78 (as amended in 1995) that any ships with major violations are detained in port. Ships found to have minor deficiencies are allowed to sail and rectify their non-conformities only up to the next port of call (to be inspected again by the PSC of that port). Hence, if MV” Rena” was detained somewhere but allowed to sail to New Zealand, she must have rectified her deficiencies from last port. Moreover, even a newly built ship by a specific country of registry (not necessarily FOC), can incur a deficiency if she fails to pass the stringent inspection of PSC. So, there is really no relation between a substandard ship and FOC.

Perhaps, the above explanations have enlightened you that there is nothing wrong with the Flag Of Convenience. The Republic of Panama, which has flagged the most number of ships in the world, is the leading employer of Filipino seafarers. Therefore, if your group is really determined to address the plight of Filipino seafarers and ensure their continuous employment, you should refrain from commenting against the FOC.

What we should do instead is to confine our argument to the issue of how the New Zealanders are treating the Filipino master, Capt. Mauro Balomanga, and his Second Mate. According to the news, the two are guilty of massive pollution and destructions of their marine environment. They said it happened because of their unsafe navigational practices. “They cut corners”, the report said.

For the ordinary readers, cutting corners means shortening the ship’s travel time and distance by disregarding the way points of course lines laid down on the chart and altering ship’s heading earlier than planned, thereby decreasing the vessel’s distance from the coast. Once in awhile mariners practice “cutting corners” to save time or avoid obstructions along the intended route of the vessel. Hence, if the master did exactly that (cut corners), he must have his own reason to take such a risky maneuver; whatever it is, I am sure running his vessel aground and spilling fuel oil overboard were NOT one of them.

While the incident can be considered a vehicular accident that can happen even to the best Captains and navigating officers, they arrested and handcuffed both seafarers like a common criminal. The law says: “a person is innocent until proven guilty”. Yet, it appears the two seamen were already pre-judged as guilty even before a trial begins.

The oil spill of approximately 200 metric tons - which was nothing compared to the 114,000 metric tons spilt by Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska - from the ship’s fuel oil tank was for them already an act of “genocide”, with gigantic proportion, that can wipe out all the sea birds, mammals, creatures and the entire marine life of the coast of New Zealand. Indeed, an exaggeration, over-reaction and naïve assessment from one track-minded people.

Like what the populace did with Benito Mussolini, Saddam Hussein, Moamar Gaddafi and other tyrants of history, majority of New Zealanders are now asking for the head of the master and his second mate, as if the two are guilty of crimes against humanity or mass-killing of their inhabitants. Do you think they can do that to American or European nationals? Of course not! They have the guts to discriminate because the seafarers involved are FILIPINOS. They know our government will not lift a finger to aid its beleaguered citizens unless the Philippine media is involved.

As of this writing, our government, particularly our DFA, has done nothing to provide any form of legal assistance or even protest this dastardly act of oppression and racism towards our own countrymen. The incident has severely demoralized our seafarers. There is a growing sentiment among our seamen that they cannot rely on our government if they ever get into trouble anywhere in the world. The common perception is that once you’re out of the country, you’re on your own.

“Sometimes you wish you’re an OCW who entered a foreign country illegally and abused by the employer or a “drug mule” out to be hanged abroad for drug trafficking before our government can take notice of your predicament”, commented one frustrated seaman.

We are now soliciting support from various sectors of the society, especially the maritime industry, to join us in lodging a nation-wide protest action to prevent Capt. Balomanga and his watch officer from being incarcerated. 12 months imprisonment should not be a penalty for a navigational error.

Yours truly,

1-SEAMAN, Party Secretary

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