Carrying out the repatriation of our seafarers by sea is the first time for Indonesia and China
Jakarta – A minimum of 155 Indonesian seafarers and the bodies of 2 sailors who died while working on board Chinese fishing vessels have been repatriated through the Bitung Port in North Sulawesi, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said.
Two ships, Long Xin 601 and Long Xin 610, ferried the sailors, who were utilized with 12 Chinese fishing vessels, back to Indonesia, Marsudi informed journalists in Jakarta on Tuesday.
” Performing the repatriation of our seafarers by sea is the first time for Indonesia and China,” she stated, adding that the Indonesian government will continue to defend the legal rights of Indonesian seafarers through the mutual legal help pact signed by the 2 nations.
Marsudi likewise provided info about the repatriation of 13 Indonesian sailors stranded in Senegal. The sailors were repatriated by air from the West African country on Tuesday, she said.
Their return became part of the repatriation of 88 sailors to Indonesia from Senegal thanks to the Indonesian Embassy in Dakar’s cooperation with the government of Senegal, she included.
In May this year, news of 3 Indonesian sailors who died on board 2 Chinese fishing vessels, Long Xin 629 and Long Xin 604, had gotten headlines.
The sailors passed away in December, 2019 and March, 2020 while the fishing boats were sailing in the Pacific Ocean, and their bodies were buried at sea. News of their deaths went viral after it was reported by MBC, a South Korean TELEVISION station, and South Korean YouTuber Jang Hansol.
One Indonesian seafarer told MBC during an interview that sailors dealt with discrimination on Chinese vessels and their working conditions were also bad.
The experience of Indonesian sailors on Chinese fishing vessels Long Xin 605, Long Xin 629, and Tian Yu 8 bore evidence of human rights violations as they were robbed of their fundamental right to live, according to Migrant CARE.
Their accounts functioned as proof of the real working conditions of Indonesian migrant employees, particularly those operating in the maritime sector, Migrant CARE executive director Wahyu Susilo said.
Indonesian migrant workers in the maritime and fisheries sectors stay vulnerable to modern-day slavery practices. The Worldwide Slavery Index, released by Stroll Free (2014-2016), an effort Migrant CARE was part of, also reveals this fact, said Susilo.
According to the Global Slavery Index (2014-2016), a number of hundred thousand Indonesian crew dealing with board fishing vessels are caught in modern-day slavery.
” This truth is saddening,” Susilo stated.
In 2015, the Indonesian federal government had actually launched an investigation into an alleged slavery case by Thai company PT Pusaka Benjina Resource (PBR), based in Aru Island, Maluku province.
However, the government’s relocation is yet to touch the fate of Indonesian seafarers working on foreign fishing vessels, Susilo pointed out. (INE)
EDITED BY INE Associated news: Indonesia recommends MLA treaty with China for ship crew handling
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