Hanjin Containership Set to Dock in Vancouver
A container vessel that spent months sitting off Canada's west coast due to the collapse of a major South Korea shipping company is set to dock in Vancouver on Thursday, port and union officials said. The Hanjin Scarlet, with nearly 800 containers on board, has been sitting some 45 km (28 miles) outside of Prince Rupert for several months, said Peter Lahay, an inspector and coordinator with the International Transport Workers Federation. Emily Hamer, a spokeswoman at the Port of Vancouver, confirmed that the vessel would be arriving at the port. She referred questions about the ship's cargo to terminal operator DP World. Officials there could not immediately be reached for comment.
Canada Makes MLC Real, Detains Another Ship
The ITF in Canada has been making full use of new rights for seafarers to ensure fair treatment and pay. A Japanese-owned, Panama-flagged bulk carrier became the third vessel to be detained in the country under the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC), which came into force in August. The Kouyou was detained in Quebec after ITF inspectors found that the crew were owed more than USD51,500 in back pay. ITF inspector Gerard Bradbury said that the 20 crew from Myanmar and Vietnam and the Canadian captain were not being paid or treated properly, in particular with the pay that should have been allotted to their families at home. He also found that crew had paid USD6600 to obtain their jobs, although recruitment fees are illegal under international labour conventions.
