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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