The Port Welfare Committee of Tenerife has adopted guidelines in cases of abandoned crews. The local newspaper, El Día, notes that the port of Santa Cruz in Tenerife is only the second state-owned facility in Spain to take such measures. The purpose of the guidelines is to offer an integrated package of care and welfare services to crews of abandoned ships.
AOS played an important role in the establishment of the Port Welfare Committee of Tenerife. In 1998, the Bishop of Tenerife, Don Felipe Fernandez Garcia, concerned by a lack of services for seafarers locally, formed a committee to attend to their practical and spiritual needs. Working with local port authorities and other partners in the maritime sector, they established a seafarers' centre in the port of Santa Cruz. It was this partnership that later became the Port Welfare Committee of Tenerife.
The proliferation of flags of convenience leads to low welfare standards and an increase in crew abandonment. The situation led AOS to call for greater co-ordination among maritime agencies. The Port Welfare Committee was formed according to the recommendations of the International Labour Organisation, specifically Convention 163 and Recommendation 173.
The Port Welfare Committee ensures a response to the immediate needs of seafarers in port. It also co-ordinates and support projects for the care and welfare of seafarers, bringing together all agencies involved. The guidelines for the care of abandoned crews cover a range of services including:
In cases of total abandonment, when ship's agents withdraw services, seafarers may be left without electricity, drinking water and food. AOS in Tenerife has produced further guidelines for such situations to be ratified by the Port Welfare Committee. These guidelines include:
Local AOS pastoral worker Juan Esteban Perez is delighted that Port Welfare Committee of Tenerife has adopted the guidelines for caring for abandoned crews. He says
"Any situation in which people are concerned for the welfare of others is good, excellent in fact. When those "others" are seafarers, that's magnificent. A development of this kind represents real human progress".
Crews are abandoned when the ship owner refuses to take further responsibility for the ship. This is sometimes because the ship has been detained by port authorities for violating safety and security legislation. It may also be because the owner cannot, or does not want, to pay the local ship's agent. Sadly, flags of convenience make it too easy for unscrupulous owners to "disappear".
For the seafarers, abandonment in port is a disaster. Without money to pay the costs of returning home, they find themselves detained in countries where they have no rights to work or receive welfare benefits and have to rely on welfare organisations, sometimes for months at a time.
click here to read how AOS supported the crew of an abandoned ship in the Seychelles
click here to read more about flags of convenience and seafarers' rights
Port welfare committees
AOS is committed to working in partnership with organisations which work for seafarers' welfare. We support the establishment of port welfare committees (PWCs) in every port, according to ILO agreements. AOS is represented on numerous PWCs around the world.
Comprehensive information about PWCs is available on the website of the International Committee on Seafarers' Welfare
Please note that AOS is not responsible for the content of websites external to our own.
