Maritime Employers News

The international maritime industry, led by the International Chamber of Shipping, has joined together to express their concern for the seafarers from the Galaxy Leader who have been held hostage and call on the Houthis to release them.Monday February 19, 2024 marks the three-month anniversary since the Houthis seized the Galaxy Leader and its 25 seafarers in the Red Sea.The roll-on/roll-off vehicle carrier was seized on November 19.“The 25 seafarers who make up the crew of the Galaxy Leader are innocent victims of the ongoing aggression against world shipping…

Seafarers’ unions and maritime employers have signed a four-year agreement that will see significant wage increases and dozens of workplace protections and improvements for over 250,000 seafarers’ serving on more than 10,000 vessels.The International Bargaining Forum (IBF), the forum that negotiates the world’s largest global collective bargaining agreement, agreed terms for the 2024-2027 IBF Framework Agreement last week in Berlin.Seafarers covered by the agreement will receive a 6% wage increase over the next two years (4% wage and compensations increase from January 1…

Dock workers in western Canada voted to accept an improved labor contract after a month-long dispute that affected trade and disrupted operations at the country's busiest ports, their union said on Friday.The vote was 74.66% in favor of the terms of the settlement, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) said in a statement.Disagreements in contract negotiations have disrupted billions of dollars in trade, raising concerns about fueling inflation.The union provisionally agreed to a new contract on Sunday…

Dock workers on Canada's West Coast and their employers said they reached a new labor agreement, averting an immediate strike, as they sought to end a dispute that has disrupted operations at the country's busiest ports.The International Longshore and Warehouse Canada Union (ILWU) and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) are recommending the ratification of the deal, they said in a joint statement late on Sunday.

Dock workers at ports along Canada's Pacific coast rejected a tentative four-year wage deal agreed with their employers last week and returned to the picket line, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) said on Tuesday.The ILWU represents some 7,500 dock workers, who walked off the job on July 1 after failing to reach a new work contract with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), which represents the companies involved.In a statement released Tuesday afternoon…

The world's biggest fertilizer producer Nutrien Ltd cut production on Tuesday, citing the impact of an 11-day-old strike in Canada's Pacific ports whose cost has now ballooned to an estimated C$5.5 billion ($4.2 billion).Some 7,500 dock workers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) walked off on July 1 after failing to agree a new wage deal with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA).The union says the BCMEA is refusing to give a fair pay increase despite making billions of dollars in profits in recent years.

Talks in Pacific Canada between striking dock workers and their employers have resumed after four days away from the negotiation table, a statement on Saturday by the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) showed.The BCMEA and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU Canada) met on Saturday, supported by federal mediators, the statement said. The talks had stalled on Tuesday and the two sides broke off negotiations.Some 7,500 port workers went on strike on July 1 for higher wages…

When Atlantic offshore wind (OSW) projects move into high gear they will kick-start a series of impacts affecting almost the entire East Coast economy, from logistics to transportation to utility projects and, of course, just about every aspect of port and maritime activities.The related topics of workforce development and employment are among the fundamental issues being pushed and pulled by OSW. How workforce development and education and training proceed – and succeed – will be critical for the U.S.

Global leaders from organizations representing seafarers, shipowners and other maritime employers signed a memorandum of understanding with the Philippines’s Department of Migrant Workers on Wednesday 11 January, to form the International Advisory Committee on Global Maritime Affairs (IACGMA).The IACGMA is composed of the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC), and the…

Finding enough seafarers willing to sail ships stuck inside Ukraine's ports is set to pose a major challenge to the proposed grains corridor designed to ease an international food crisis.Russia and Ukraine last week signed a deal to restart grain and fertilizer exports that have been blocked in the Black Sea and on Wednesday Turkey unveiled a center to coordinate the resumption of shipments.But some 80 ships remain blocked in Ukraine and the evacuation of most of their crew members means more mariners are needed in the region to get the cargoes moving.Henrik Jensen…

The risk of coming across floating mines in the major Black Sea shipping route is adding to perils for merchant ships sailing in the region, and governments must ensure safe passage to keep supply chains running, maritime officials say.The Black Sea is key for shipping grain, oil, and oil products. Its waters are shared by Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, and Turkey, as well as Ukraine and Russia, which have been at war since President Vladimir Putin invaded his southern neighbor on Feb.

The maritime industry is establishing its own approved international network of quarantine facilities to ensure safe crew changes as the Omicron variant spurs governments to close their borders to seafarers needing to leave and join ships.The Crew Enhanced Quarantine International Program (#CrewEQUIP) is a partnership between the International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC); the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS); and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF)…

Classification society and risk management expert DNV said Wednesday it would take on an "instrumental role" in helping to facilitate safe crew changes amid South East Asia’s COVID crisis as an auditor in the multi-party backed CrewSafe program.CrewSafe is the creation of the Singapore Shipping Tripartite Alliance Resilience (SG-STAR) Fund Task Force (SFTF), which was established by the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Singapore…

Striking dockworkers at Canada's second-biggest port will gradually return to work on Saturday, the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) said, after the federal government passed a law to end the walkout.Late on Friday, the Canadian government passed back-to-work legislation to halt the strike, which workers at the Port of Montreal began on Monday over changes to their work schedules."Our priority now is to plan for the resumption of port operations and to ensure efficient and seamless service…

The international trades union and professional association representing seafarers and allied workers Nautilus International has welcomed a decision by the International Bargaining Forum (IBF) to designate the Strait of Hormuz as a Temporary Extended Risk Zone, after 12 weeks of increased aggression towards merchant ships in the Gulf of Oman.The IBF's decision, announced on Tuesday 13 August, means that seafarers who are subject to an attack in the zone, are entitled to a bonus and doubled death and disability compensation.It follows discussions by the IBF's Warlike Operations Areas Committee over the past weeks, who have been closely monitoring the situation and the risk to shipping.Nautilus was present at the discussions…

Six European shortsea and feeder ship operators have filed an official complaint to the European Commission, claiming International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) attempts to force ships to use dockers for container lashing violate EU competition law.In a letter to the Directorate-General for Competition dated May 19, 2020, the operators call for an official investigation into the ITF and affiliated Dutch union FNV Bondgnoten, and their campaign to compel operators to stand down seafarers from shipboard container lashing.

Dockworkers at Canada's second largest port on Monday began their second strike in less than a year, as business leaders urged Ottawa to quickly end a walkout they said could cost the economy C$25 million ($20 million) a day.The federal Liberal government said on Sunday it would introduce special legislation to end the strike at the Port of Montreal, hoping to stop it from hurting the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.Unionized workers, in talks for a new contract since 2018…

Longshore workers at Canada's biggest port, the Port of Vancouver, were locked out on Thursday in a labor dispute over technology changes, temporarily grinding most shipping there to a halt. The lockout ended in a deal on Thursday with their employer after a few hours, the workers' union said.A tentative agreement on a new contract was reached with the BC Maritime Employers Association, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada said in a statement. Jim Thompson, a spokesman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada…

Wasteful, Unwarranted and does not address the ‘Marijuana Challenge.’On December 28, 2018, the United States Coast Guard published a notice in the Federal Register alerting the maritime industry of its determination to increase the minimum annual rate of random drug testing for 2019 from twenty-five percent (25%) to fifty percent (50%). American Maritime Safety, Inc. (AMS), a non-profit industry consortium that facilitates the industry’s compliance with these regulations, regrets the Coast Guard’s decision.AMS counts as members over 400 maritime employers including cruise liners…

Canada's manufacturers on Monday asked the federal government to curb a brewing labor dispute after dockworkers at the country's second largest port said they will work less this week.Unionized dockworkers, who are in talks for a new contract since 2018, will hold a partial strike starting Tuesday, by refusing all overtime outside of their normal day shifts, along with weekend work, they said in a statement on Monday.The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Quebec's 1,125…

Companies with workers repairing and refurbishing ship components utilizing sand blasting have become the subject of a new U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard.All employers and employees in the maritime industry need to be aware of the new requirements as OSHA continues efforts to protect workers from the hazards of exposure to breathable silica dust. The new application of the "Respirable Crystalline Silica" standards requires…

Thousands of longshore workers at Canada's biggest port, the Port of Vancouver, were locked out on Thursday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said.The B.C. Maritime Employers Association, which represents 55 companies, such as ship owners and terminal operators at the port, issued a notice this week that it would lock out some 6,000 workers who load and unload ships due to a labor dispute. (Reuters, Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Kelsey Johnson in Ottawa; Editing by Dan Grebler)

On the waterfront, it all depends. It is well established that workplace safety and productivity can be compromised, not just by the use of illicit substances and alcohol, but also by the use of prescription drugs. Federal law, however, imposes limits on employer inquiries in this area both with respect to the affected job classifications and the scope of the inquiry. Generally, an employer may not ask all employees what prescription medications they are taking because such an inquiry is not job-related and consistent with business necessity, according to Enforcement Guidance from the U.S.