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Seafarers’ exit ban should be lifted says ITF
9 July 2008
 |  |  view larger image | | | Clean up operation following the oil spill last December [Photo: G43, GFDL] | |
The ITF has called on the South Korean authorities to allow two seafarers to return home after they were exonerated of any involvement in causing an oil spill last December.
Captain Jasprit Chalwa and Chief Officer Syam Chetan of the Hebei Spirit were detained by South Korean authorities pending an investigation and legal proceedings concerning an incident during which the Hong Kong registered vessel was struck by a crane barge. The incident, which occurred last December outside the South Korean port of Taean, led to an oil spillage.
Two tug captains were jailed and the crane operator fined but Chalwa and Chetan were found to be innocent. However local prosecutors appealed the decision and a further trial is in the offing. Chalwa and Chetan are anxious to go home to their families in India and have given assurances that they will return when the trial takes place. They are currently unable to leave the country until an exit ban is lifted.
ITF Maritime Coordinator Steve Cotton said: “There are a number of cases where seafarers have been criminalised and their basic rights denied. In our experience, detention or inability to leave the country where the investigation is taking place – even when all guarantees required by the authorities are provided – has the sole effect of creating unnecessary psychological and physical discomfort which ultimately can damage the detained seafarers’ health.”
He concluded: “The ITF, supported by its affiliates worldwide, is committed to assist every seafarer who is unfairly criminalised and to bring his or her case to the attention of the international shipping regulatory bodies. We see no reason why these men should not return to their families, and are calling upon the Daejeon District Prosecutor’s Office to grant such permission as a matter of urgency.”
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