Justice At Last for Coral Sea Captain

Captain Kristo Laptalo (59), master of the Coral Sea, has just been found innocent in a Greek court of any involvement in cocaine smuggling.  The judgement was made in the Patras Appellate Felony Court and vindicates the captain and those who have supported him through his 17 month ordeal.

ITF Maritime Coordinator Stephen Cotton commented: “This is justice at last for Kristo Laptalo. He has been treated as a political football for 17 months and that has finally been made to stop by his efforts, by his legal team’s and by the international campaign that raised an outcry against the abuse of justice so loud that it was heard in this courtroom today.”
He continued: “Happy though we are for him we must not forget that every seafarer is potentially in the firing line. Authorities have to learn to stop reaching for the easy option and condemning the – usually foreign – ships’ officers as a gift to public opinion when things go wrong.

We cannot forget that the two officers of the Hebei Spirit are also facing possible jail sentences in Korea for something that, just as in this case, virtually everyone agrees they are innocent of.”

“We would never condone drug smuggling but it has long been clear that Captain Laptalo was not guilty of any involvement in such an activity, and we are glad that the Greek courts have now recognised this.”

He concluded: “We would like to applaud Captain MacDonald, Secretary General of the IFSMA, who testified for the Captain on our behalf, the Seafarers’ Union of Croatia and its unceasing efforts, and indeed all of those who have backed Captain Laptalo and questioned the grave injustice to which he had been subjected.”

 (www.itfglobal.org)

Panama Canal Pilots attended Seminar in Cartagena

Captains Rodrigo De La Rosa, David Pardo and Alvaro Moreno attended the 1st International Seminar for Maritime Pilots from the Caribbean Region, hosted by the Asociacion Nacional de Pilotos Practicos de Colombia (ANPRA) and held in Cartagena de Indias on October 23 and 24, 2008.

Captain Moreno made a presentation on Maritime Security at the Panama Canal.
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Panama Tugs Strike for Better Conditions

Workers of Sindicato de Trabajadores de Servicios Marítimos de Remolcadores, Barcazas y Afines de Panamá (Sitrasermap), ITF affiliate, went on strike last 2 September in Port Columbus (Atlantic Terminal) and Port Balboa (PacificTerminal) demanding better conditions in working day.

The company Smit International Harbour Towage Panama (SIHTP) maintains the working system of each five working days, five days off, however by the workload that exists in Ports the employees has to work 24 hours consecutively and they only receive the payment of 12 hours.

Workers demanded at least six consecutive hours of brake after 12 hours of continuous work, as well as remuneration for overtime work.

Another major concern of the union is that work overload without rest represents accident risks to every worker and difficulties in the Canal’s operations.

Sintrasermap lifted the strike and they requested arbitration to the Labour Ministry in Panama to solve this labour problem.

Luis Fruto, General Secretary of Sitrasermap and ITF Inspector in Panama commented: "We know that this multinational company Smit International Harbour Towage is the number one in tugs’ services in the world, unfortunately they use many tricks to evade the right to organise and Collective Bargaining Agreements. The main reason for this strike was to demand to the company obeys the National and International conventions on working hours and rest."

(Taken from www.itfglobal.org)

Panama Canal Pilots Attended XIXth IMPA Congress

The picture above shows delegates of the Panama Canal Pilots' Association (from left to right: Captains Limberis Diamantopulos, José Burgos, Alvaro Moreno and Julio Ortíz - President of the Association. Capt. Hernán Navarro not in the picture) with delegates from Argentina at one of the social events of the Congress.

The XIXth IMPA Congress took place in Bangkok, Thailand, from August 4 through 8, 2008.  Once again, one of the main topics of this Congress was the resurgence of competition among pilots in a single port facility or waterway.  Pilots from all over the world discussed this and other problems faced by maritime pilots, as well as measures to be taken to prevent erosion of the high standards of the profession and its effect on navigational safety.

During the Congress session on Thursday morning, the delegations from Belgium and Panama presented a report on how the Cooperation Agreement signed at the XVIIIth IMPA Congress in La Habana, Cuba, in 2006, has strenghten the relationship among pilots of the two countries while providing an excellent channel for the exchange of technical information and experiences.

On the last day of session, the Panama Canal PIlots' Association presented a short piloting film which ended with an invitation to all delegates to attend the 22nd IMPA Congress in 2014, which will be held in Panama.  The same year we'll celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Panama Canal.

ILWU Dockers Backs Striking Crew