The Missing Link - exploring humans rights and environmental ESG issues relating to shipping: Recent Episodes
Bryce Lawrence
We climb into the emerging topic and explore a missing link in many ESG / Sustainability Supply Chain Analysis.
The Ships that bring our goods from all over the world to our shores every day. We analysis the risks resulting from Seafarer Welfare (Humans Rights) on board the global fleet of ships and Ship Breaking (Humans Right, Safety, Environmental Pollution)
For Importers, Exporters and Maritime Financial Institutes. This podcast series can help you understand the problems and the risks to our company, stakeholders and reputation.
Greenwashing, bluewashing, massive environmental damage, illegal waste dumping, corruption, unethical corporate structures, flags of convenience and ignorance. What else do you need to get you interested in the breaking the global shipping fleet on the beaches of south Asia?
In this episode we discuss with NGO Shipbreaking Platform, their perspective on the shipbreaking activities on three beaches in south Asia.
Approximately 70% of the worlds ships get broken on these three beaches. The vast majority of this business is environmentally dirty, dangerous and breaches many basic human rights of the workers.
Pay rates that differ based on the colour of your skin, forced overtime, not being paid regularly, not being able to easily communicate with friends and family ashore, not being supplied with basic amenities whilst on board and not being able to go ashore. NOT BEING PROVIDED ADEQUATE FOOD AND POTABLE WATER on board ships carrying millions and millions of euros worth of products to our shores. These are just some examples Ikenna shares win this podcast.
In this episode, you'll hear directly from a Seafarer about how tough life can be at sea. You'll hear about breaches of human rights and legal rights that some seafarers suffer bringing the products to our shores everyday that we consume.
We chat with Ikenna Ebin Idika, a Seafarer and a poet. Ikeena who writes poetry as a outlet and a way to express the hardship he and his fellow seafarers face. In this podcast you will hear two of Ikeena's poems, 'A Seafarer, I am' and 'Gender Restricted'
In this episode, Frank Coles shares his experience inside the maritime industry as a master mariner, a lawyer and the ex-CEO of a number of large successful Maritime companies. He shares how the inability to address the Seafarer Welfare Human Rights problem adequately from within the industry, was one factor for him leaving his role as a CEO of a large ship management company at the end of 2020.
Seafarer Welfare has become a worsening human rights problem in the supply chain of most of the goods coming to our shores on ships during COVID, but the problem has always been there. Acknowledged by the industry as a problem, but largely unknown to the companies putting their goods on those ships.
Importers, Exporters and Maritime Financial Institutes are starting to focusing on ESG / Sustainability issues in the shipping part of their supply chain, but only in the area of CO2 emissions. They are largely unaware if this problem.
The Cold Reality for Thousands of Seafarers
Forced Overtime,
Little or no access to medical treatment,
No shore leave in many ports around the world,
Work/rest hours abuses,
Inadequate nutrition,
Seafarers being lied to about when they will be allowed shore leave or even worse, when they get to fly home to their families,
Not being paid for months at a time, if at all,
Crews being forced to sign documents stating they are voluntarily staying at sea for a second 9 month voyage, despite this still being illegal,
Internet turned off to prevent home and inter-ship communications as well as with labour unions, and
Rape and Sexual Abuse of Seafarers.