The Aetea Sierra

For the Filipino community’s information, follows are the facts regarding the plight of the Aetea Sierra’s Filipino crew.   At the outset of this episode, the embassy had pursued the path to immediate repatriation (for more background on the case, see previous article (Aetea Sierra crew’s plight nears end, 26 Dec. 2009):

1. As soon as the Embassy was informed of the Aetea Sierra’s plight, on 30 September 2009,   it dispatched a  letter to POEA the following day requesting  plane tickets for the crew under the Migrant Workers Act;
2. Crewmembers were informed of the letter and requested to just wait for the tickets per assurance from the Phil. Manning Agent;
3. While waiting for the tickets, there was constant communication with them; questions like if they have enough food and other basic needs; informed us that such items are being provided by the ship owner;
4. We offered to  shelter them in the FWRC in the meantime  if their condition would prompt them to do so;
5. 2^nd Week of October, Engr. Hantic, one of the crewmen,  sent a text message that they would not leave the ship until their salaries-in-arrears are not paid;
6. On October 26, 2009, POLO team headed by the LABATT together with Atty. Pavlakis, a lawyer who has had a good track record in handling cases of Filipino seamen,  went to the ship and talked with the crew, eleven of whom had already engaged the services of an ITF lawyer to pursue the case;
7. Engr. Hantic however declined the services of the ITF lawyer, so the Embassy offered to him the services of  Atty. Pavlakis, who had been successful in handing many cases of Filipino seamen; and,
8. During that time, the seafarers were informed that their salaries and other money claims can be filed in the Philippines as their manning agent is liable under Philippine labor law.
9. The Embassy and the Labor Office  exerted every effort to keep the lines of communication with the crew open, and were assured that they were getting the necessary provisions on the ship.

Piraeus court issues order favorable to the 12 seafarers

The Piraeus court 21December 2009 ruled in favor of the  12 seamen.

The lawyers of the 12 Filipino seamen on board mv Aetea Sierra also confirmed that the ship is set for auction on 17 February 2010 to pay the wages awarded by the court in its order of 21 December 2009 unless the ship owner, Aetea Sierra Maritime Company, Ltd.  pay the seamen before that date.

In its order of 21 December, the Court of First Instance of Piraeus directed the immediate payment of 132,963.32 euros (about $190,000) to the 12 seamen, as follows:

The court based its award on prevailing Greek standards (law and collective agreements), not on the POEA contracts signed by the seamen, and covered the period from the start of their contract up to 9 November 2009. Comparing the award to the original demand of six of the seamen:

For higher ranked seamen, however, the wage differentials are less as one can see above.

According to the lawyers, Attys. Thanasis Alykatoras of the ITF and Christos Moschos of Pavlakis-Moschos Law Offices, the court also ordered that the additional amount of 195,000 euros (or $277,000) be secured to be collected for the seamen at a later stage of the case.

The Filipino crewmembers are  waiting for the arrival of their replacements so that they could return to the Philippines and rejoin their families. Meanwhile, their wages will accrue, based on the favorable Greek standards, until they are fully paid, that is, while they stay in Greece. Eleven of them have already completed their contracts.

The Piraeus court award was calculated using Greek wage standard which is about four times more than what they would have received on wages stipulated in their contracts. The awards for the remaining 11 Filipino seamen are yet to be calculated by use of the same standard.

The Ambassador had sent  two letters, on 23 December 2009 and 14 January 2010. Minister of Economy, Competitiveness and Shipping Ms. Louka Katseli requesting her to allow the return to the Philippines of the said seamen as soon as possible even before the arrival of the relief crew.  Unfortunately the Minister has not responded yet.

(Convention among sailors and the shipping industry is that a crew cannot just abandon a ship – unless their lives are in immediate danger as in the case of a sinking ship — unless there is a replacement crew, as a crewless ship especially near a port, and  because it could be unmoored and buffeted by the tides, poses danger to other ships.)

On 1 December 2009, the embassy dispatched two of its staff on board Aetea Sierra to supply the Filipino seafarers with Filipino  food as they were missing their country’s own cuisine.  This action was repeated shortly before Christmas and communications with them remained open to ensure that they were in good condition on the ship.

The Embassy continues to be in touch with the Aetea Sierra crew.

There is no question that the crew must be allowed to return as soon as possible to their home.  But as the ITF lawyer Atty. Alykatoras had emphasized to the crew and to the Embassy: “We must all realize that we have to wait for the decision of the court.”