The Panama Canal “adrift” due to safety concerns

#transport_maritime

Canal de Panama, le conflit pourrit doucement…

Communiqué du syndicat des commandants de remorqueurs (UCOC) alors que la direction (ACP) les accuse de #prendre_les_usagers_en_otage (#air_connu, le trafic, en l’occurrence) :

Panama Canal Tugboat Captains Locked in Heated Dispute with Management Over Safe Manning of Tugs – gCaptain
▻http://gcaptain.com/panama-canal-tugboat-captains-locked-in-heated-dispute-with-management-ove

According to the UCOC spokesperson, beginning at midnight on April 12, Panama Canal management unexpectedly refused to the provide the third deckhand for the forward tugboat, as has been the standard since the Expanded Panama Canal opened, and no explanation was provided for the change in procedure. 

“The unconsulted and sudden decision of the Panama Canal Administration to eliminate a tugboat sailor from the bow, endangers the safety of customers, workers and the Canal’s own facilities,” the UCOC said in a statement over the weekend.

“It is false that the tugboat captains refuse to do their job; the events of the last 48 hours are due to discrepancies in issues that specifically affect the safety of navigation and the operation of the Panama Canal,” the statement added.

The UCOC cited an incident last November in which a deckhand was killed on a tugboat connected to the stern transiting vessel. Despite starting operations with three sailors, the aft tugs now only use two sailors, which the union believes may have contributed to the incident. “We do not want history to repeat itself,” the UCOC said.

On Tuesday, ACP Deputy Administrator Manuel Benítez took to Panamanian radio to defend the move to two deckhands and publicly blame the tugboat captains for interrupting canal operations.

“No one has the right to stop the traffic in the channel, because we have an authority structure where it is established that the work is done and then one complains. The channel is required to operate with discipline,” said Mr. Benítez, who also revealed that the April 12 stoppage impacted the transit 8 ships.

Communiqué de l’#ITF, Fédération internationale des ouvriers du transport (16/04/18)

ITF : The Panama Canal “Adrift” Due to Safety Concerns – gCaptain
▻http://gcaptain.com/itf-the-panama-canal-adrift-due-to-safety-concerns

The situation between the [ACP] and the Tugboat Captains’ Union (UCOC) is worsening day by day. The ACP has threatened with dismissals of around ten (10) Tugboat Captains that are refusing to perform operations they consider unsafe. 

The lack of focus on safety has already resulted in one casualty and a number of incidents, including collisions that in one case an investigation by the USA National Transportation Safety Board (following a collision between the Panama canal tug Cerro Santiago and the US Coast Guard cutter Tampa) indicated excessive working hours and fatigue as one of major the causes. “It is easy to make decisions that affect the safety when sitting behind a desk, but it is a different matter when the decisions that are being made put people’s lives and that of their colleagues in jeopardy. The Authorities should ensure proper investigation of all incidents and work with the unions in finding solutions instead of sanctioning those that raise safety concerns” says the ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton.

▻http://www.itfglobal.org/en/news-events/news/2018/april/the-panama-canal-adrift-due-to-safety-concerns

Version française

Le Canal de Panama « à la dérive » par manque de sécurité - International Transport Workers’ Federation
▻http://www.itfglobal.org/fr/news-events/news/2018/april/the-panama-canal-adrift-due-to-safety-concerns

La tension entre la PCA et le syndicat des capitaines de remorqueurs (UCOC) monte jour après jour. La PCA menace de licencier une dizaine (10) de capitaines refusant d’effectuer des opérations qu’ils jugent dangereuses.

La négligence des aspects sécurité a déjà fait une victime et plusieurs incidents, dont des collisions. Une enquête de l’agence américaine pour la sécurité des transports (National Transportation Safety Board, États-Unis) menée après la collision entre le remorqueur Cerro Santiago et le Tampa, navire des garde-côtes américains, a révélé que les horaires de travail excessifs et la fatigue étaient les causes principales de l’accident. « Il est facile de prendre des décisions qui touchent à la sécurité assis derrière un bureau, mais il en va autrement quand ces décisions mettent la vie des travailleurs et de leurs collègues en danger. L’Autorité devrait enquêter diligemment sur tous les incidents et collaborer avec les syndicats pour trouver des solutions, au lieu de sanctionner ceux qui sonnent l’alerte » a déclaré le Secrétaire général de l’ITF, Stephen Cotton.

Poursuites disciplinaires contre les commandants de remorqueurs du canal qui ont dénoncés les conditions d’exploitation.

▻https://seenthis.net/messages/693155