CAMPAIGN AGAINST ROGUE SHIP OWNERS A SUCCESS

PORT KLANG (Malaysia), Nov 30 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Council of the
International Transport Workers Federation's (ITF) campaign to weed out rogue
ship owners and stop the exploitation of seafarers has been a "great success".

"The campaign sent a very strong signal to the owners that this part of
the world is no longer a save haven for their vessels to operate," said the
campaign's local coordinator, A. Balasubramniam, who is also the secretary of
the Union of Employees of Port Ancillary Services Supplier (Unepass).

Balasubramaniam, who is also Vice-President of the Malaysian Trades Union
Congress (MTUC), said a total of 37 ships were inspected during the five-day
campaign at Port Klang and northern state of Penang, which began on Nov 23.

The annual campaign was also carried out simultaneously in 13 other Asian
countries to check on "flag of convenience (FOC) ships" which flouted
international regulations pertaining to proper wages and terms and conditions
for workers, he told Bernama.

FOC ships are those registered in countries such as Panama, Bahamas,
Bermuda, Cyprus, Cambodia, North Korea and Mongolia where regulations are known
to be "lax" and do not adhere to international conventions.

Balasubramaniam said compared to previous campaigns, this year there was a
drastic reduction in non-compliance of maritime regulations by ship owners.

"Most of the ships owners complied with ITF guidelines, regulations and
recommendations of the ILO (International Labour Organisation)," he added.

He said in view of the large number of FOC ships using Malaysian Ports the
Malaysian ITF council would recommend to its regional office in Tokyo to station
a permanent ITF ship inspector in Malaysia to keep regular tabs of such ships.

He also called on the Marine Department to carry out more regular and
stringent checks on such ships to ensure that workers were not exploited.
-- BERNAMA