Tag: food parcels delivery

SAMSA, NGOs rally jointly to save starving crew members on board three reportedly abandoned vessels in Durban.

FOOD ON BOARD: Some of 18 crew members of three vessels reportedly abandoned at the port of Durban, South Africa; receiving food parcels arranged between the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), Meals on Wheels Community Services SA and the Mission for Seafarers on 18 January 2022. With the seafarers are (far left) Mr Sibusiso Rantsoabe of SAMSA, (third right) Mission to Seafarers Durban port Chaplain, Reverend Thami Tembe and Ms Germaine Melody Cecil Jolene Maasz of Meals on Wheels Community Services SA.

UPDATE:

Pretoria: 28 January 2022

Publication of this story on Monday this week has, possibly expectedly; elicited wide public attention in South Africa and abroad. As a consequence, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) has sought to assist enhanced public awareness about the situation by providing more granular detail through media interviews including national television. Some of the interviews shared here include one of the sailors on board the vessels. Click on the links below for more. Please do note that these are totally independent reports by news media and only shared here for purposes of enhancing public awareness about the situation.

Pretoria: 24 January 2022

A group of 18 seafarers grappling with apparent abandonment on three vessels docked in Durban have been sparred at least a month of hunger and starvation, thanks to the intervention of the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) acting jointly with two non-governmental organisations, Meals on Wheels Community Services SA and Mission to Seafarers this past week.

According to the organisations in a joint statement on Monday, the crews are manning three vessels reportedly abandoned by their owners – two of these vessels stranded for between two (2) and five (5) years ago – as a result of which the 18 seafarers are battling daily for necessities but especially food.

SAMSA confirmed separately that it has and continues to be constantly involved in efforts to resolve issues revolving around the fate of the vessels since about five years ago but would not divulge details due to confidentiality related reasons among those parties involved.

DELIVERING FOOD AID: On site to deliver food parcels to 18 crew members of three vessels reportedly abandoned at the port of Durban on 18 January 2022 are (From Left) Meals on Wheels South Africa offical, Ms Germain Melody Cell, Jolene Masssz and Meals on Wheels national programme director Mr Gershon Naidoo and SAMSA seafarers welfare manager Mr Sibusiso Rantsoabe.

In the joint statement, the parties said: “The vessels PSD2 and Fairy Tale have been at the port of Durban for between five (5) and two (2) years respectively while the PSD104 arrived at the port earlier this month. The vessels are currently manned by 18 seafarers collectively, one (1) Iranian, six (6) Bangladeshi and 11 Indians.

“The 18 seafarers have not been paid salaries for several months and were running out of food in a matter of hours which prompted Reverend Tembe from the Mission to Seafarers to make a desperate call to SAMSA for assistance.

“SAMSA in turn made a call to the Meals on Wheels Community Services South Africa who, without hesitation, made food parcels available to the seafarers.

“The food parcels comprising various nutritious foods were delivered to the 18 seafarers on 18 January 2022 by a team from Meals on Wheels Community Services South Africa led by its National Programmes Director Mr Gershon Naidoo. It is estimated that the food supplies will last the seafarers for up to four (4) weeks,” said the entities in the statement.

According to SAMSA, whose legislated mandate expressly includes the active protection of life and property at sea, vessels and crew abandonments are a general phenomenon.

Citing the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), SAMSA said abandonment of ships and crew at sea was characterised by a situation where “a shipowner fails to fulfil certain fundamental obligations to the seafarer relating to timely repatriation and payment of outstanding remuneration and to the provision of necessities of life, inter alia, adequate food, accommodation, and medical care. 

“Abandonment will have occurred when the master of the ship has been left without any financial means in respect of ship operation.”

SAMSA further quoted the IMO as saying that as many as 438 abandoned ships involving 5,767 seafarers were recorded globally between 2004 – 2020 and that estimates indicated that “there are many other cases worldwide which go unreported.”

In fact, the IMO notes that: “There has been a dramatic rise in cases over the past three years following the entry into force on 18 January 2017 of the 2014 amendments to MLC (Maritime Labour Convention) 2006  concerning financial security in cases of abandonment.”

In addition to various other instruments and activities to manage cases of ships and crew abandonments, the IMO says it works closely with organisations such as the International Labour Organisation, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) to maintain a database of incidents, and encourages especially its more than 150 Member States globally to report such cases to the international organisation on occurrence.

“A Member State or an organization accredited to ILO or IMO is entitled to report an abandonment incident. The following stakeholders are consequently entitled to report to the database:

  • Flag States may report cases of abandonment in their jurisdictions. The State the flag of which the abandoned vessel is flying has the primary responsibility to repatriate the abandoned seafarer or fisher if the shipowner fails to make arrangements for, or to meet the cost of, repatriation.
  • Port States may report cases of abandonment in their jurisdictions. The State in the port of which the abandoned vessel is situated has a secondary responsibility to repatriate the abandoned seafarer or fisher.
  • Labour-supplying States may report cases of abandonment in their jurisdictions. The country of nationality of the abandoned seafarer or fisher also has a responsibility to repatriate the abandoned seafarer or fisher if the flag or port States fail to do so.
  • NGOs with consultative or observer status in IMO or ILO.

The procedure to be followed in reporting cases of ships and crew abandonment is outlined on the IMO’s website, including the contacts details applicable.

Meanwhile, in Pretoria on Monday, SAMSA, Meals on Wheels Community SA and Mission for Seafarers committed to continue working jointly in the meantime in efforts to alleviate the plight of abandoned crews.

According to SAMSA; “The Mission to Seafarers through their Durban Port Chaplain, Reverend Thami Tembe, has been working alongside SAMSA to provide relief to the distressed seafarers. Reverend Tembe who has become like a father to these seafarers have been providing them with emotional support and spiritual counselling and organising food supplies.”

Meals on Wheels Community Services SA, well known for helping those who are poverty-stricken within the borders of South Africa with nutritious meals and food security, said its involvement in the Durban situation was its first venture into the maritime space “and we hope that there will be many more opportunities to partner with SAMSA and The Mission to Seafarers,” said Mr Naidoo.

Mr Naidoo added that members of the public keen to land a hand were welcome to do so. “Should (anyone) wish to know more or like to get involved with us, (they may) visit our website https://mealsonwheels.org.za/ , email us at info@mealsonwheels.org.za or  check out “Meals on Wheels Community Services” Social Media pages.

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‘Every day is a Mandela Day’: SAMSA extends food relief to needy in North West

UPDATED: Wednesday 29 July 2020 [05.30pm]

On Wednesday, 29 July 2020 SAMSA delivered on its commitment to assist with food parcels those people identified as most in need in Maboloka village, in North West province as depicted in this short presentation.

Pretoria: 27 July 2020

Nelson Mandela Day 2020: SAMSA maintains its commitment to helping alleviate poverty among the needy. A North West community chosen for assistance

On 18 July every year since 2009, South Africans join the international community to celebrate Nelson Mandela Day, In South Africa by and large, people are encouraged to partake by devoting ’67 minutes’ of their time in offering assistance of one kind or another to those less privileged than themselves.

It is with that spirit that the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) once again – as it has done every year – joins the celebration by devoting some attention to those in need. According to a SAMSA statement in Pretoria this week, the targeted community this year is that of Maboloka village in North West province.

In keeping with the theme of Mandela Day 2020: “Each 1 Feeds 1” SAMSA says it has pledged part of its Corporate Social Investment (CSI) budget to bring relief to the community of Maboloka by donating food parcels to 150 families.

Maboloka is a rural village under the jurisdiction of Madibeng Municipality in the North West province, one of the country’s five inland provinces, with a population of approximately 160 000. Most of the families survive on social grants, with a high rate of youth unemployment.

The food parcels will be distributed to the community on Wednesday, 29 July 2020. In the endeavour and gesture of goodwill, SAMSA has partnered with a locally based Non-Government Organisation (NGO), The Youth for Survival; to assist with the distribution of the food parcels.

The Youth for Survival is a registered NGO headquartered in Pretoria and with a satellite office in the Maboloka village. According to SAMSA, the NGO has in the past participated in poverty alleviation projects.  On Wednesday, it will assist in delivering the food parcels to families in the area identified as most in need.

SAMSA Acting Chief Executive Officer Mr Sobantu Tilayi says the distribution of food parcels to the Maboloka community this year, is part of a broader project by SAMSA and its partners scheduled for rollout soon.

With this year’s celebration of the Nelson Mandela Day occurring under a dark cloud of a rampant Covid-19 pandemic across the world, and which is ravaging economies in an unprecedented scale due to necessary country lockdowns, the need among those less priviledged has become even greater.

“In the coming weeks we will announce a project that will see SAMSA partnering with institutions in both the private and the public sectors in interventions in fishing communities. We have decided to dedicate resources into long term and sustainable projects that will ensure effective poverty alleviation in vulnerable fishing communities particularly during this COVID-19 pandemic”, said Mr Tilayi.

Mr Tilayi further said that SAMSA’s involvement with the Maboloka community was indicative of SAMSA’s commitment to ensuring inclusive beneficiation of inland communities in the country’s vast maritime resources.

End.