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Moroccan port unionist released

Click on the image above to watch a related video from the Maritime Union of Australia.
The call to free Said El Hairech took on international dimensions
The UMT union worker that organised both a Tangier dockworker agreement and protests against the stranding of nearly 200 Moroccan seafarers in Spanish and French ports has finally been released.
Said El Hairech, head of the Port and Dockers section within the UMT transport union and general secretary of the Moroccan Merchant Mariners Mohammad Chamchati were arrested in June. The pair, say International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), were arrested because they carried the mandatory international obligations they have to protect labour rights.
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ITF comment on Hong Kong collision: Don’t silence crewmembers

The death toll from a ferry collision off Hong Kong rose to 39 on Friday, as the search for survivors was formally called off four days after the accident. All of the passengers and crew of the two boats involved in Monday night's collision were accounted for, an official statement said.
Commenting on the collision between two passenger vessels in Hong Kong waters on Monday, ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) seafarers’ section secretary John Whitlow said:
“This is a sad loss of life, and all of us must be thinking of those affected, and of the continuing rescue and medical efforts. It is deeply regrettable that crew members from both vessels have been arrested. The priority should be to quickly discover what has gone wrong and stop it happening again – not to risk terrifying crews into silence.”
Captain TT Chung, general secretary of the MNOGHK (The Merchant Navy Officers’ Guild-Hong Kong), and member of the ITF’s fair practices committee steering group, said: “This accident has been a dreadful reminder of all that we strive to prevent. Our thoughts are with all those who have been affected. We hope that the lessons to be learned will be...

Alaska outlines Arctic deep sea port ambitions

The state of Alaska is planning to create an Arctic Port Authority to cater for a boom in Arctic shipping in the future. It is also working with the US Army Corps of Engineers to locate a site for a deep water port.
Alaska Senator Mark Begich confirmed that the move is part of a bigger plan to improve facilities for shipping in the region.
The legislation to create the Arctic Port Authority was introduced in September, which will be the starting point for the creation of “an independent, semi-private, US Arctic Deep Water Port Authority to plan, finance and build and maintain such a port”.
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