Seafarers entreats  Govt to ratify International Maritime Labour Convention 

A Coalition of Ghanaian Seafarers has implored government to take steps to ratify the International Maritime Labour Convention 2006 and enter into bilateral agreements with European Union member countries to safeguard the employment avenues for Ghanaian seafarers. 

The General Secretary of the Ghana Merchant Navy Officers Association, Engineer Sigis Buckman said this at a News Conference in Tema to register Seafarers’ concerns about what the group termed government’s laissez-faire attitude towards maritime labour issues. 

According to Mr. Buckman, despite undergoing a successful European Maritime Safety Agency Audit which opened the way for Ghanaian Seafarers’ certificates to be recognized by the EU Maritime Commission, government has not made the effort to enter into agreement with the individual EU countries which is a requirement of the International Maritime labour practices. 

The joint News Conference organized by the Ghana Institute of Marine Surveyors, the Ghana Merchant Navy Officers Association, the Ghana Maritime Professionals and the National Union of Seamen was to highlight the issues of concerns to them. It was also to bring to the fore the benefit of ratifying maritime conventions to the country. 

According to the group governments over the years have failed to leverage Ghana’s maritime labour supply chain towards economic development. Engineer Sigis Buckman is the General Secretary of the Ghana Merchant Navy Officers Association.

He said since the collapse of the National Shipping Line, the Black Star Line, Ghanaian seafarers had to find their own means of employment on foreign flagged vessels. 

The President of the Ghana Institute of Marine Surveyors, Captain William Amanhyia said even though efforts were made to get stakeholders to understand the challenges of the seafarers it seems government agencies like the Ghana Maritime Authority are not interested in engaging them.  

GBC