MARINERS WELFARE GUILD organized a PROTEST GATHERING in CHENNAI on SEAFARERS DAY to draw attention to criminalisation of seafarers.
The GUILD had been launched on Aug 15th as a platform to bring together marine professional bodies of Marine professionals: Master Mariners, Marine Engineers, Naval Architects etc with the objective of helping mariners when all else lets them down.
To create a maritime constituency for highlighting and lobbying for maritime related matters, it was decided to celebrate the 1st Saturday of December as SEAFARERS DAY. 5th Dec 2009 was so celebrated in Mumbai, Chennai and other Indian seafaring centers.
In Chennai, the Day was more specifically used to draw attention against criminalisation to the plight of the seafarer and impact on seafaring career. Seafaring has proven to be of high professional and employment potential for Indians over the last few decades and they in fact have garnered a dominant quality share through diligence, hard work etc utilizing their advantage of English proficiency.
Members of Merchant Navy Officers Association, Institute of Marine Engineers, Nautical Institute, Company of Master Mariners and a few Naval Architects came together under the Mariners Welfare Guild banner to mark Seafarers Day and use the occasion to draw attention of the public to the burning issues of their profession.
About 100 of them including seamen staying in Seafarers Club, Trainee cadets from HIMT, Maritime Foundation and Vels Academy, gathered outside Seafarers Club at 0800 with placards drawing attention to the current hot cases of detention of Capt Aroza of VLCC TOSA in Taiwan and Able Bodied Seaman Sakhib Sakharkar in Algeria.
The road in front of Chennai Port Trust building was marched on silently without blocking traffic enabling the media to obtain proper coverage. Stalwarts like Capt A K Bansal - a mariner turned Barrister and Industrialist, Dr P. Misra, K. Chidambaram, K. Shankar, Capt Suresh Amirapu were amongst the attendees.
In true Gandhian spirit of helpless protesters for the cause of hapless mariners, there was no speech making or sloganeering. But with advance coverage notice in Indian Express, the media had turned out in numbers and provided good live coverage on Television, and recorded for distribution/later transmissions for the print and visual segments.
The protest gathering was broadcast live by TIMES NOW, and ZEE TV and IBN recorder for later transmissions. They interviewed Capt Vivekanand President of MNOA, Capt Pullat founder of the GUILD, Capt. Venkat of Tradex Shipmanagement etc. Capt Pullat was later interviewed by ANI (Asian News International) and NEWSX (INXNEWS) specifically for dissemination to the news media at large. Media coverage was organized by the Guild and provided by AccoladePR.
The stories and issues behind detention of Capt Aroza in Taiwan, AB Sakharkar in Algeria, and Capt Yin Shen Yan and Chief Officer Yang Gao Peng in Mangalore were aired. The increasing trend to criminalise mariners for accidents that unavoidably happen in the course of their duties and associated problems arising there-from were talked about. Apprehension about seafaring losing charm as a career to youth due to the same was drawn attention to.
Lack of action by International bodies and the governments were expressed as frustrating. It was agreed that jurisdictional laws will apply generally, but when international Conventions have been ratified and in force, they had to be followed in letter and spirit. The apathy of the Indian government and others involved- who could work towards solutions, in the absence of diplomatic relationship, was seen as distressing.
It was hoped that such protest gatherings and media coverage would draw the attention of the public and all concerned, and enable help reverse the tendency to criminalise.
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