Seafarers' visas proving a concern says ISF
(Mar 22 2013)
The International Shipping Federation (ISF) has called on port states to
facilitate the right of seafarers to shore leave, in line with governments'
international treaty obligations, by proposing a new pragmatic approach to visa
requirements.
The ISF has made this proposal in a submission to the IMO's Facilitation
Committee, which meets next month to consider its current review of the IMO
Convention on the Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL).
This convention includes a blanket prohibition on port states requiring
seafarers to obtain visas in order to enjoy shore leave.
The long established principle that, due to the special nature of their
employment, seafarers should not be required to hold a visa for the purposes of
shore leave is enshrined in various international conventions, including the
International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions 185 and 108, as well the
IMO FAL Convention.
However, in a post `9/11' world of heightened concerns about security and
immigration issues, the ability of seafarers to exercise this right is
increasingly being challenged, with visas now required in the US and Australia.
Problems are still being reported of seafarers not being able to leave their
ships without visas within the Schengen area of the European Union, in spite of
efforts by the European Commission to resolve these difficulties. Problems also
exist in Brazil, Singapore, South Africa and other countries.
"Despite the clear principle established by various conventions, many port
states do now require a large number of seafarers to obtain visas in advance in
order to enjoy shore leave. This causes serious difficulties for seafarers
especially those operating in tramp trades that may not have the opportunity to
apply for a visa in advance." said ISF director of employment affairs, Natalie
Shaw.
As part of the ongoing review of the FAL Convention, several governments have
supported proposals to add `visa number, if appropriate' within the information
that port states can be permitted to request from ships.
While governments have argued that this information will only be used to assist
the transmission of information about visas required by those seafarers who
might wish to travel beyond the `geographical limits' of shore leave, ISF
believed that adoption of such an amendment could serve to legitimise the
requirement of visas for shore leave by Parties to FAL, further undermining the
fundamental principle that visas should not be required.
ISF is proposing to IMO that governments should agree that in the event that
port states insist upon requiring visas for shore leave, they should make
provisions for the seafarers to be able to apply for visas upon arrival in
port, or very shortly before. ISF will therefore propose that a new
`Recommended Practice' to this effect be included in the FAL Convention. If
accepted, ISF will drop its current opposition to the proposal that visa
numbers might be requested from ships.
"While this involves a degree of compromise on our part, we do not want to cut
off our nose to spite our face. In the event that such an amendment could be
accepted by governments, this might make a significant contribution towards
facilitating access to shore leave, which remains a serious problem for many
seafarers and shipping companies and which is a matter on which we have seen
little progress in recent years. We want to break the impasse." said Shaw.
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