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MTD: FOC pitfalls reflected in recent accidents (10/31)

The AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department (MTD) has posted the following article on its web site, www.maritimetrades.org Two New Orleans Area Accidents Highlight Flaws in FOC System The issue of how the flag-of-convenience (FOC) system undermines marine safety came to the fore in mid-October when, in the space of five days, two accidents involving runaway vessels were reported in New Orleans and the Lower Mississippi River. The first incident occurred when two freight ships collided in the Mississippi River in Kenner, Louisiana. The Greek-flagged Zagora, which was carrying soybeans and heading downriver, collided with the Torm Anholt, a Panamanian vessel. The second one took place at the IMTT Myrtal Grover facility near Point A La Hache, Louisiana. It involved the Heidelberg Express, a German containership, and the Yerot Sakos, a 737-foot Liberian cargo ship full of iron ore. Of course, New Orleans is no stranger to accidents involving FOC vessels. Perhaps the most notorious accident occurred in 1996, when a Liberian-flagged vessel owned by a Chinese company, the Bright Field, slammed into a busy pedestrian walkway. Hundreds were injured and there was millions of dollars worth of damage. The Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO has been a longtime critic of the FOC system and how it allows owners with few ties to a nation to document their vessels under its flag. The system not only allows companies to evade minimum health, safety, training, environmental and labor standards, it also is marked by a lack of transparency. A study conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard showed that over a three year period, 1998-2001, 500 of 5,000 FOC vessels boarded and inspected by the agency (or 10 percent) were found to have safety violations severe enough to deny those vessels access to American ports. ###