4 ms·

Is there something that could be done by people otherwise uninvolved - like myself, or my fellow HN readers - to help the other ~250 people who are currently st

Is there something that could be done by people otherwise uninvolved - like myself, or my fellow HN readers - to help the other ~250 people who are currently stuck in similar situations? I don’t even know how to go about enumerating who those people are, their ships, or where they are anchored. With that information a well-organized and/or funded group could at least get someone out to these people to check on them, provide basic supplies, and perhaps some form of reliable communications. A lot of problems seem insurmountable large and complex, and even this one seems so if your goal is to free these people of their legal liabilities - but if you set aside trying to solve the reason they’re stuck onboard these ships in the first place, providing basic humanitarian aid to them seems doable. ETA: This looks like a good place to start - https://www.ilo.org/dyn/seafarers/seafarersbrowse.home https://www.ilo.org/dyn/seafarers/seafarersbrowse.home

BurningFrog 6y ago
From reading the article, they just for some legal reason need a person on board the ship. So maybe people could volunteer to replace them on a rolling schedule.
- Ancapistani 6y ago
  In this particular instance, that seems to be the case. I imagine there are probably legal hurdles that needed to be overcome to even make that happen, but I’m glad it did. I just sent an email to the International Maritime Organization, who manages the database I linked in the GP, to ask if there are any extant organizations dedicated to providing relief to people in similar situations. I’ll update here when and if I hear back from them, or as I make progress toward figuring out the scope of this issue in other ways.
- dawnerd 6y ago
  Sounds like a joke but turning them into airbnb would probably end up being pretty popular. Who wouldn't want an entire ship to themself for a night?
  - rxhernandez 6y ago
    For me, it would depend on how stabby the ship is. (I don't want to get injured by a ship in disrepair)
- gowld 6y ago
  The Egyptian law is ridiculous. The government should hire coast guard staff to supervise the boat.
  - londons_explore 6y ago
    I wonder if there is any value in supervising the boat if it has no power... No power means no engines, no lights and no radios. That means even if the boat was robbed, there is nothing the supervisor could do about it.
  - zaphirplane 6y ago
    I assume the purpose of holding someone physically accountable is to make it harder to use countries as ship parking lots
    - willcipriano 6y ago
      "Where is what ship? Oh, after 180 days we let the national guard boys play target practice with the ships that go unclaimed."
  - Ancapistani 6y ago
    I don’t necessarily disagree, but I don’t have the ability to easily influence that. I might have the ability to make people’s lives easier in similar situations.
- csomar 6y ago
  > they just for some legal reason need a person on board the ship So what if the guy in question doesn't show up?
- jrnichols 6y ago
  could be a great airbnb
Ancapistani 6y ago
Ah, here’s the IMO database entry on the MV Aman. It provides much additional context. https://www.ilo.org/dyn/seafarers/seafarersbrowse.details?p_lang=en&p_abandonment_id=331&p_search_id=210422231527 https://www.ilo.org/dyn/seafarers/seafarersbrowse.details?p_... In particular, here’s a recent update that sheds some light on why Mr. Aisha remained aboard - in short, he refused to leave unless and until he was paid the wages due to him: Govt. of Bahrain (7 March 2021) From Registration of Ships & Seamen Affairs I would like to highlight few facts as below: 1) Vessel is not abandoned, but under court arrest due to ongoing cases. 2) Seafarer by the name Mohamed Aisha had accepted a court appointment to act as court representative onboard. As such, when the owner repatriated all other crew members he was not allowed to be repatriated by the courts. 3) We had intervened with owner several time and also arranged for the courts to allow his repatriation by appointing another representative, but he decided not to disembark due to outstanding wages. 4) The owners have tried with all resources available to repatriate him but he was not willing to cooperate. If he is now ready to be repatriated, then the owners are willing to cover such costs of air passage and local charges as a show of our commitment towards him.
- gwright 6y ago
  This seems like pretty important information if correct. A huge portion of the HN discussion is moot if the Mr. Aisha chose to remain. Seems like he could have continued his fight for the outstanding wages elsewhere.
  - AnimalMuppet 6y ago
    If I understood that correctly, "chose to remain" because if he didn't, he would lose his claim for wages for the time he was stuck on the ship. That's a fair amount of money.
    - gwright 6y ago
      Sure if that is the case, it is not a good trade-off. But that is a much different situation than the one that was communicated by the reporting, which suggested he had no legal way to leave. I'm still not sure I have an accurate picture of the situation.

BurningFrog 6y ago

From reading the article, they just for some legal reason need a person on board the ship. So maybe people could volunteer to replace them on a rolling schedule.

Ancapistani 6y ago
In this particular instance, that seems to be the case. I imagine there are probably legal hurdles that needed to be overcome to even make that happen, but I’m glad it did. I just sent an email to the International Maritime Organization, who manages the database I linked in the GP, to ask if there are any extant organizations dedicated to providing relief to people in similar situations. I’ll update here when and if I hear back from them, or as I make progress toward figuring out the scope of this issue in other ways.
dawnerd 6y ago
Sounds like a joke but turning them into airbnb would probably end up being pretty popular. Who wouldn't want an entire ship to themself for a night?
- rxhernandez 6y ago
  For me, it would depend on how stabby the ship is. (I don't want to get injured by a ship in disrepair)
gowld 6y ago
The Egyptian law is ridiculous. The government should hire coast guard staff to supervise the boat.
- londons_explore 6y ago
  I wonder if there is any value in supervising the boat if it has no power... No power means no engines, no lights and no radios. That means even if the boat was robbed, there is nothing the supervisor could do about it.
- zaphirplane 6y ago
  I assume the purpose of holding someone physically accountable is to make it harder to use countries as ship parking lots
  - willcipriano 6y ago
    "Where is what ship? Oh, after 180 days we let the national guard boys play target practice with the ships that go unclaimed."
- Ancapistani 6y ago
  I don’t necessarily disagree, but I don’t have the ability to easily influence that. I might have the ability to make people’s lives easier in similar situations.
csomar 6y ago
> they just for some legal reason need a person on board the ship So what if the guy in question doesn't show up?
jrnichols 6y ago
could be a great airbnb

Ancapistani 6y ago

Ah, here’s the IMO database entry on the MV Aman. It provides much additional context. https://www.ilo.org/dyn/seafarers/seafarersbrowse.details?p_lang=en&p_abandonment_id=331&p_search_id=210422231527 https://www.ilo.org/dyn/seafarers/seafarersbrowse.details?p_... In particular, here’s a recent update that sheds some light on why Mr. Aisha remained aboard - in short, he refused to leave unless and until he was paid the wages due to him: Govt. of Bahrain (7 March 2021) From Registration of Ships & Seamen Affairs I would like to highlight few facts as below: 1) Vessel is not abandoned, but under court arrest due to ongoing cases. 2) Seafarer by the name Mohamed Aisha had accepted a court appointment to act as court representative onboard. As such, when the owner repatriated all other crew members he was not allowed to be repatriated by the courts. 3) We had intervened with owner several time and also arranged for the courts to allow his repatriation by appointing another representative, but he decided not to disembark due to outstanding wages. 4) The owners have tried with all resources available to repatriate him but he was not willing to cooperate. If he is now ready to be repatriated, then the owners are willing to cover such costs of air passage and local charges as a show of our commitment towards him.

gwright 6y ago
This seems like pretty important information if correct. A huge portion of the HN discussion is moot if the Mr. Aisha chose to remain. Seems like he could have continued his fight for the outstanding wages elsewhere.
- AnimalMuppet 6y ago
  If I understood that correctly, "chose to remain" because if he didn't, he would lose his claim for wages for the time he was stuck on the ship. That's a fair amount of money.
  - gwright 6y ago
    Sure if that is the case, it is not a good trade-off. But that is a much different situation than the one that was communicated by the reporting, which suggested he had no legal way to leave. I'm still not sure I have an accurate picture of the situation.