Duty bound to help abandoned sailors

UNLESS the situation has changed radically, the Panamanian-flag B Ladybug, a 27,003-dwt vehicle carrier managed from Singapore, remains adrift off the coast of Malta about a year after its owner got into financial difficulties.

International Labour Organization (ILO) representatives visited the ship's crew and made a film about the case.

That film was shown to the 300 representatives of seafarers, shipowners and governments, meeting at the ILO's headquarters last week. They agreed that the first amendments to the ILO's Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, (MLC) will protect abandoned seafarers as well as provide financial security for compensation in cases of death and long-term disability due to occupational injury or hazard.