Tackle ‘flags of convenience’ and protect domestic shipping
The lesson from the pandemic is clear: the global maritime industry must be properly regulated, warns MARK DICKINSON
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FLAGS of convenience (FOCs) are a legal aberration and a stain on the shipping industry. They provide shipowners with the means of avoiding effective control by the countries of ownership, mostly from the global North, and the enforcement of strict rules and regulations that protect seafarers.
They have become a powerful vehicle for social dumping by allowing shipowners to exploit weaker legislation and lack of enforcement meaning lower wages, longer tours of duty and hours of work, and unsafe working conditions for seafarers.
Low or no taxes are also a key motivating factor behind a shipowner’s decision to use FOCs, many of which are considered tax havens.
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Seafaring is vital to our nation’s economy, but the industry has been allowed to diminish with a devastating impact on our port cities and coastal communities – a rejuvenation policy is urgently needed, argues MARK DICKINSON
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Seafaring is vital to our nation’s economy, but the industry has been allowed to diminish with a devastating impact on our port cities and coastal communities – a rejuvenation policy is urgently needed, argues MARK DICKINSON
RMT assistant general secretary EDDIE DEMPSEY says a Labour government has the opportunity to protect mariners, renew our port towns and rebuild a once proud tradition of seafaring in this country
