Delivering on Seafarers’ Rights - One Year On
In the last two years, seafarers' rights have been stretched to breaking point beyond the systemic issues that make life at sea far more challenging. They have been stretched to the point where many are choosing other careers, and shipowners and...
P&O Ferries in Deep Water: Labour Outsourcing is Not an Escape from Human Rights Responsibilities
The decision by UK shipping company P&O Ferries to fire 800 staff without notice and to replace them with agency workers is the latest example of how outsourcing is increasingly used as a business strategy to reduce labour costs and secure the...
23 March 2022 | Commentary
Commentary by Neill Wilkins, Head of Migrant Workers Programme, IHRB Julia Batho, Deputy Chief Executive, IHRB
What It’s Like to be a Seafarer During a Pandemic
In this article, through photos, we highlight the voices of some of the seafarers at the centre of the Crew Change Crisis who for months on end have been unable to disembark their ships because of global port and travel restrictions linked to the...
06 April 2021 | Commentary
Commentary by Deborah Sagoe, Communications Coordinator, IHRB
What’s the Catch? Forced Labour and Trafficking in the Taiwanese Distant Water Fishing Industry
Seafood is one of the most traded food commodities in the world, with an estimated annual value of USD $153 billion. Around USD $42 billion of that is from tuna, a highly migratory species that traverse areas of our oceans beyond national...
26 May 2020 | Commentary
Commentary by Andy Shen, Senior Oceans Advisor, Greenpeace USA
The Invisible Transport Workforce Keeping Supply Chains Moving
When we talk of front-line staff in the global coronavirus crisis, how often do we have in mind the docker, the seafarer, the long-distance freight trucker, the delivery driver – those transporting food, medical supplies, fuel and other essential...
31 March 2020 | Commentary
Commentary by Frances House, Senior Advisor, Special Programmes, IHRB
Red Sea attacks: response must focus on seafarer rights
The dangerous security situation unfolding in the Red Sea over recent weeks, in which commercial ships have come under attacks from Houthi militia groups, is forcing shipping companies to take extraordinary measures in order to address significant...
09 February 2024 | Commentary
Commentary by Steven Jones, CEO, Sustainable Shipping Initiative