HUMAN RIGHTS AT SEA PRESS RELEASE
Immediate Release
“I pray to God that something like this should never happen to anybody. Because it may be nice to hear the tales of someone’s struggle, but in reality it is very difficult to bear.” Indian Seafarer. Falkland Islands. June 2015.
In the lead up to the forthcoming London International Shipping Week and World Maritime Day 2015 and with the focus variously on seafarers and their welfare, Human Rights at Sea has published a new redacted case study detailing the first-hand accounts of Indian seafarers who were subjected to mental and physical abuse over a sustained period at sea.
The case study is available for download at http://www.humanrightsatsea.org/case-studies/. It outlines a stark case of deliberate abuse commencing from the start of their commercial employment to the point at which four out of eight of the men leave the vessel in the Falkland Islands in order to receive medical and pastoral assistance before repatriation to India. There is no information as to the whereabouts or condition of the Indian seafarers who remained onboard.
“This is one of a number of cases currently presented to Human Rights at Sea for investigation and review. The seafarers explicitly asked that this story should be shared publicly in order to continue to reinforce that all is not harmonious at sea and that abuses of seafarers continues day in day out despite the best efforts of regulatory regimes.”
“Although a slow process, the collection of such witness testimony continues by Human Rights at Sea. This informs ongoing work and future investigations and which in due course will be presented to the appropriate authorities for action, including flag States and shipping associations” said Human Rights at Sea CEO, David Hammond.
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