Rights International News

On 28 October, the maritime leaders of tomorrow - World Maritime University (WMU) class of 2023 - graduated. The WMU 2023 graduating class includes 283 graduates from 71 countries, including a record of 99 women graduates.WMU President, Professor Maximo Q. Mejia, Jr., delivered welcome remarks. As a WMU graduate himself, President Mejia reflected on the power of the WMU experience and how it affects the way one thinks, works, plans, and interacts. “You have acquired information that you did not possess before you enrolled here," he said.

Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI) has raised concerns about the implications for masters of the recent reports of the launch of the new EU Frontex operation Triton which will apparently have a reduced budget and focus on border control in place of the Italian Mare Nostrum that is credited with saving more than 150,000 migrants in the Mediterranean. Deirdre Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI) said, “The commendable practice of merchant ships…

In a contribution to the legal support of seafarers worldwide, SRI (Seafarers' Rights International) launched a Charter of Good Practice for the Provision of Legal Services to Seafarers. “For seafarers, seeking the advice of a lawyer can be one of the most stressful events of their career,” said Deirdre Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of SRI. “Not only are they dealing with the effects of the incident that has led them to that point, but they are also pursuing a course of action which too often seems fraught with confusion, difficulties and worries about expense.

Seafarers’ suggestions on how to improve their situation when facing criminal charges were presented at the landmark 100th session of the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which met in London from April 15-19, 2013. The suggestions, which emanated from a comprehensive eight language survey conducted by Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI) over a 12-month period to February 2012, focus as much on fears of their own human rights being violated as on a lack of due process in the criminal process.

Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI) has again demonstrated its commitment to the shipping industry by welcoming the latest intake of high performing young graduates into this year’s SRI Legal Internship Scheme. The successful candidates hail from a diversity of countries across the globe - but all have in common a keen interest in the field of international law and seafarers’ rights, and a desire to succeed. “This year's programme is a departure from the traditional intern model", said Deirdre Fitzpatrick, founder and Executive Director of Seafarers’ Rights International.

The survey by international legal research centre Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI) of 3,480 seafarers in the 12 months to the end of February 2012 was conducted in eight languages, with responses returned from 18 countries and 68 different nationalities of seafarers. Of the seafarers surveyed, 8% had faced criminal charges; 4% had been witnesses in criminal prosecutions, while 33% knew of colleagues who had faced criminal charges. Almost 24% of masters in the survey had faced criminal charges. Questions in the survey specifically asked about the experiences of seafarers who had faced criminal charges. 44% of seafarers reported that they were bodily searched.

A worrying indictment of the plight of seafarers has been delivered by a far-reaching survey of the experiences of seafarers facing criminal charges with seafarers complaining of unfair treatment, intimidation and a lack of legal representation and interpretation services. The survey by international legal research center, Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI), of 3,480 seafarers in the 12 months to the end of February, 2012, was conducted in eight languages, with responses returned from 18 countries and 68 different nationalities of seafarers. Of the seafarers surveyed, 8 percent had faced criminal charges; 4 percent had been witnesses in criminal prosecutions, while 33 percent knew of colleagues who had faced criminal charges.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) ‘Day of the Seafarer’ (June 25) is the opportunity for renewed efforts to safeguard the human rights of seafarers throughout the world and ensure that they are offered proper legal protection and support. That is the message from Deirdre Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI). “On this important date, players in the maritime world have to ask themselves the question: how much do they care about the workers who transport over 90% of the goods we all rely on…

IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos welcomed the launch of the Seafarers’ Rights International Centre, an independent forum dedicated to advancing seafarers’ interests, describing it as an important development on World Maritime Day, the theme of which is “2010: Year of the Seafarer”. The new Centre will be located at the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF)’s London offices, with initial funding coming from the ITF’s Seafarers’ Trust. An international Advisory Board, currently 10-strong, has already been established and the Centre’s stakeholders will include seafarers, lawyers and other advisers, non-governmental organizations…