Australian unions warn some foreign seafarers forced to stay on board with no prospect of returning home

Australia’s maritime regulator has been inundated with complaints about shipping crews being forced to stay on board for months on end without any prospect of returning home – a problem complicated by Covid-19 travel restrictions.

In the latest such case, Australian authorities detained a Hong-Kong flagged bulk carrier in Newcastle over claims of serious breaches of the international convention that protects the working and living conditions of seafarers. Four other vessels have also been detained over the past month over related issues.

The Maritime Union of Australia says the cases point to a broader “crew change crisis” that is leaving some seafarers working for more than a year without leave.

“Internationally, the stranding of seafarers aboard is putting tremendous strain on seafarers’ mental and physical health,” the MUA told a parliamentary inquiry into how Covid-19 is transforming Australia’s foreign affairs, defence and trade.

“Fatigue, isolation, anxiety and depression is affecting a large number of these seafarers.”

The MUA said Australia needed to work with other countries to help fix the crisis because these ships were part of supply chains that were “sustaining the Australian economy”.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation told the inquiry that globally, there were “an estimated 300,000 men and women being held on their ships long after their contract periods have expired and in excess of the maximum period of 11 months as mandated under the Maritime Labour Convention”.

“Australia is just beginning to appreciate the vulnerability of our sea trade to exhausted and traumatised seafarers carrying our exports to foreign markets,” the federation said.

Since late June, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority has received 55 separate complaints about potential breaches of the convention.

Amsa announced in late June that it would be flexible and allow service for up to 14 months as many countries were imposing tough border conditions during the pandemic.

Labor’s transport spokesperson, Catherine King, said the practice of forcing shipping crews to work for more than a year was “not only cruel but dangerous”.

King called on the government to “immediately form a taskforce to work across government and with unions, crews and companies to facilitate crew transfers as quickly and as safely as possible”.

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She said the government had “not even bothered to dial into an international meeting hosted online by the UK government last month”.

Guardian Australia has been told Australia could not participate in the UK’s Ministerial Maritime Summit on Crew Changes – which resulted in a joint statement signed by 14 countries pledging to tackle “the global crisis that is unfolding at sea” – due to the short notice received for the event. Australia registered a formal apology.

A spokesperson for the Australian government said it recognised “the importance of the maritime industry to global supply chains and the need to ensure ships are safe and that seafarers are able to return home”. It was working with the states and territories and industry on the issue.

“The government understands several hundred crew left vessels in Australia recently and acknowledges the significant efforts of those shipowners who have supported crew changes,” the spokesperson said.

An Amsa spokesperson confirmed that the authority had detained the Hong-Kong flagged Unison Jasper in Newcastle last week “over potential serious deficiencies under the Maritime Labour Convention including repatriation of seafarers”. It continued to investigate those concerns.

The MUA’s national secretary, Paddy Crumlin, said seven of the crew members on board the Unison Jasper had been “on board for 14 months with no way to get home”.