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NAMMA to host panel discussion (5/12)

The North American Maritime Ministry Association (NAMMA) has issued the following news release: National Maritime Day Panel to Address New Maritime Labor Convention Washington, DC, May 5—As part of the National Maritime Day events being held on May 22nd in venues around Washington, DC, the North American Maritime Ministry Association (NAMMA) will be hosting a panel discussion of the newly crafted Maritime Labor Convention under discussion for national ratification. The panel will be held at 3:00PM (1500hrs) at the Convention Center of the Washington Navy Yard. The Maritime Labor Convention, adopted in February of this year, was designed to update and consolidate the approximately 60 earlier instruments dating back to the 1920’s. The Convention applies to all ocean-going ships with few exceptions, and is expected to take 3-5 years for ratification by maritime nations. The panel moderator is Clay Maitland, Managing Partner of International Registries, Inc. which administers the Marshall Islands Ship Registry, the fifth largest registry in the world. Joining Mr. Maitland are signatories to the Convention – Joe Cox, President and CEO, Chamber of Shipping of America and Bruce Carlton, Associate Administrator for Policy and International Trade, MARAD. The panel will open with a discussion of current seafarer conditions by Rev. Lloyd Burghart, the Executive Secretary of NAMMA, and Alfred Kuffler, a partner at Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP, who will discuss the criminalization of seafarers. Concluding the panel will be Rev. Bob Crafts, MD and Chairman NAMMA Public Affairs Committee who will present NAMMA’s initiatives to support the Convention. A reception will follow. In addition to NAMMA, sponsors of the panel to date include the Seafarers International Union and the International Transport Workers’ Federation. The North American Maritime Ministry Association (NAMMA) is an alliance of over 150 nonprofit, faith-based individuals and agencies that assist seafarers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Founded in 1932, it facilitates pastoral care of seafarers coping with spiritual, physical and legal challenges in the conduct of their jobs in the maritime field. For security reasons, please register to attend by sending an email to Rev. Lloyd Burghart at namma@cogeco.ca. For further information, contact Ms. Carleen Lyden-Kluss at 203 255 4686 or c.lyden-kluss@morganmarketcomm.com. ###