Tag Archives: seafarers

Opinion: As seafarers, we’ve been thrown overboard by the NZ Government

Your shift starts at midnight. It finishes at midday. You’ve done this before. This is the 68th day straight, or is it the 69th day? Who knows? They all begin to blur together at this point. You try calling home to your loved ones, get about five minutes into the chat you’ve so desperately needed, before the connection is lost mid-sentence. You’re on a container ship, or a fishing trawler, or a support vessel for oil and gas platforms. Working alongside the same people, eating the same food, day in day out. You stay focused, you have to – one mistake can spell disaster. Lives can be lost. You don’t complain, because you’re needed. It’s your job. If you don’t do the work, who will? >click to read< By Nathan Schumacher

Legal playing field tilted against dead fishermen

When commercial fishermen and other seafarers die on the job, does the law provide justice for their survivors? The case of the Mary B II’s deadly sinking off Newport in January of this year shows the legal process tilts toward boat owners in several ways, largely to benefit the economy. “Once a seaman dies, the estate has very few remedies,” said Joe Stacey, a Seattle maritime lawyer who represented late crewman Joshua Porter’s estate in reaching a settlement with the boat’s owner. >click to read< 06:55