Team Herald
MARGAO: The Goan Seafarers Association (India) has urged the government to stress upon the ‘Fair Future for Seafarers, broadcasted by International Maritime Organisation (IMO), as they celebrated International Seafarers Day at Margao on Friday.
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Seafarers have further demanded that the government should provide early clearance for travel and documentation to join vessels as many of them are still stranded at home and the issue hasn’t been addressed.
Captain Elborne D’Silva, guest of honour, graced the occasion by giving a speech on the Seafarers day emphasised how a lot of Seafarers are arrested on the basis of unfair means and held for years in prison without proper investigations and legal proceedings in a country. He claimed countries should have a proper framework to facilitate the homecomings of arrested seafarers instead of being held captive for too many years.
Seafarers further urged the central and state government to urgently address the pending ‘fairness issues’ concerning the seafarers in Goa such as the debarment of CDC issue, pension issue which has been stopped since October 2019.
“Most important things seafarers want from the maritime industry and concerned authorities are to roll out COVID-19 vaccine in priority basis, stop the criminalization of Seafarers, shorter contract duration for ratings, a generous amount of free Internet access, reducing the unemployment gap between demand and supply, and tackling piracy,” said Frank Viegas, president of GSAI.
