Some Hanjin Sailors Denied Shore Leave in U.S. Ports
September 28 2016 - 6:00PM
Dow Jones News
Crews aboard Hanjin Shipping Co. vessels docked at American
ports are being barred by U.S. immigration officials from coming
ashore, a decision labor groups say goes against international
seafarers' conventions.
Sailors on several Hanjin ships were denied shore leave out of
concern they night not return to their ships, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection said in a statement. The concerns arise after the
shipowner filed for bankruptcy protection late last month. The
company's fleet sat idle at sea for weeks after filings in South
Korea and the U.S. because the company was unable to pay docking
and container-handling fees, and its owners feared ships might be
seized by creditors.
A U.S. bankruptcy judge has now barred creditors from seizing
Hanjin's assets, and with new financing to pay terminal operators,
some U.S.-bound ships have berthed and released their cargo.
Sailors with visas are often able to go ashore while their ships
unload, though CBP has denied shore leave in other cases.
For the crews of those ships, "the uncertainty of the situation
was weighing on them," said Jeff Engels, U.S. West Coast
coordinator for the International Transport Workers' Federation,
which represents about 700 trade unions world-wide. "After a long
period at sea, the crew and officers really want to go ashore."
On Monday, dockworkers at the Port of Seattle staged a brief
work stoppage in solidarity with the crew of the Hanjin Marine,
after crew members dropped a banner off the side of that ship that
read, "We deserve shore leave." Members of the International
Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 19 cheered and sounded horns on
their vehicles, according to a video posted on the chapter's
Facebook page Monday night.
Representatives for the ITF have been in contact with crews of
the carrier's fleet around the world, in many cases boarding ships
to check payroll records, the freshness and availability of food
and supplies and general welfare. Another ITF official described
the U.S. decision to bar crews from shore as "the only serious
exception" to otherwise good treatment of Hanjin sailors
world-wide.
U.S. Customs officials have also been in regular communication
with the ships' crews, the agency said in its statement. In case of
a medical emergency, CBP said it may grant special permission to
disembark.
On shore, "you take for granted that you can smell flowers, hear
birds or check what movie's playing," Mr. Engels said. "When that's
denied, it's like a gut punch."
On Wednesday, a South Korean bankruptcy judge handling Hanjin's
insolvency proceedings said a sale of the troubled company is
possible. The company has a total of 97 container ships, 37 of
which it owns and 60 of which are chartered.
Write to Erica E. Phillips at erica.phillips@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 28, 2016 17:45 ET (21:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024