Filipino seafarers on Migrants’ Day 
Afloat in a Sea of Misery

Two weeks before June 7, the government-declared Migrants’ Day, five Filipino seamen died when the boiler room of the merchant ship SS Norway exploded off Miami. The ship has a long history of safety problems, including engine, electrical and sprinkler systems failures and several incidents of boiler room fires. When one of the Filipino surviving victims decided to file charges against the ship’s owner, the Philippine government, instead of supporting him, cautioned that the action would affect the “viability” of Filipino seafarers. Thus, even if a large part of his body got burned and he will most likely not board a ship again, the poor seaman is being dissuaded from seeking justice lest he jeopardizes the government’s labor-exporting policy.

BY ROWENA CARRANZA 
Bulatlat.com

Burns, bruises and a state of shock are shown on the face of Filipino cook Abdi Comadia as he appears before reporters May 27 in Miami. At right, steam rises from the vents of the Norwegian Cruise Line’s SS Norway about a half hour after the explosion and fire.

Abdi Comadia was one of the 19 crewmen injured in the incident, which occurred last May 25 at the port of Miami, Florida. Six other crewmen, five of them Filipinos, were killed. Comadia plans to file a case against the Norwegian Cruise Lines ship, seeking US$1 billion in punitive damages and US$1 million in compensatory damages.

Comadia sustained burns over much of his body when the ship's boiler exploded, punching a hole in the ship’s hull and spewing extremely hot steam.

Floating coffin?

The 41-year-old ship was once a famed transatlantic liner named La France. According to Comadia’s lawsuit, it "is an ancient, dangerous vessel with a long history of safety problems which should have been sent to the scrapyard years ago.”

The 313-meter (1,035-foot) vessel is reportedly among the few ships using superheated steam that regularly enters U.S. ports, as most ships now use the safer diesel propulsion.

The United Press International (UPI) meanwhile reported that SS Norway failed a coast guard inspection two years ago because of around 100 trouble spots in its sprinkler system. Then in the early 1980s, its electrical system reportedly failed and in May 1981, it experienced boiler room failure.  Seven months later, a boiler room fire erupted – an incident that would be repeated in March 1982.

Xavier Bayoneta of the Filipino Seafarers’ Movement (FSM) said the SS Norway is a “flag of convenience (FOC) ship.”  FOC ships are registered by their owners in a different country so that they can get away with paying lower taxes and very low wages, he said.

For example, a British owner might register his ship in Panama so that he can avail of the lower taxes, registration fees and other costs in that country.

“It’s common for these ships to be in sub-standard shape and they’re notorious for grossly underpaying and overworking their crew,” he said.

Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas reacted to reports of Comadia’s lawsuit and was quoted in newspaper reports as saying it will affect the deployment of seafarers. Her statement was widely criticized by OFW groups.                 

Blacklisting

Aside from the unscrupulous practices in FOCs, Bayoneta also cited the practice of blacklisting of seamen by manning agencies and ship owners. These prevent seafarers who criticize anti-worker practices and unsafe conditions on a ship from boarding again.

"The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) engages in a similar practice except they call it 'watchlisting'.  For us, it's the same thing because both practices prevent seafarers from being employed again just because they dare speak out against the unjust conditions they are subject to," said Bayoneta. 

Such was the case of Carlito Serafin, 36 years old, a seafarer for eight years before he was “watchlisted” by the POEA itself in 1987. 

At the press conference, Serafin explained that after being placed on the watchlist, he has not worked on another international vessel.

“I used to make around US$270 on the OBO Alberta Tanker.  Now, I’m forced to work at the pier unloading cargo from ships at P0.30 a sack,” he said.

Serafin said he was forced to complain about work conditions on the Alberta because they were not provided appropriate safety gear and were made to do work outside their contract.

“I had a six-month contract as a specialist working on the top-side tank,” he says. “ We weren’t given safety goggles or masks even though the work environment was stifling hot and we had no ventilation.” 

There are around 500,000 seafarers now registered with the POEA but at any given time, only about 40 percent are employed on international vessels. This still however makes the Philippines the world’s No. 1 supplier of seafarers.

According to the labor department, seamen earn a basic salary of US$385 a month. They contribute about half of the US$12 billion in remittances OFWs sent home.

June 7, Migrant’s Day, marks the day when Republic Act 8042, also called Migrants Act of 1995, was promulgated. The law supposedly gives protection to the rights and welfare of OFWs, called as modern-day heroes by the government.  Its passage was brought about by the hanging of Flor Contemplacion, a Filipina domestic helper, in Singapore, on March 17, 1995 amid public outrage in the Philippines. Bulatlat.com

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