Criminalization of Seafarers - Introduction

Criminalization of Seafarers is a very sensitive issue especially in light of recent cases such as M/T Hebei Spirit , M/V Tosa etc which has highlighted the vulnerability of the seafarers to unfair trials in foreign lands resulting in detention/imprisonment without even being proven guilty.The trend unfortunately sees seafarers as easy scapegoats after an incident and they continue to be penalised for acts that have nothing to do with criminal negligence. This has acted as a wake up call for seafarers, unions,shipping companies, authorities etc to seriously address this issue.

Shipping (sailing ) as a career is already losing its luster because of being out-shined by careers ashore and the ever increasing cobweb of national and international regulations which at times restrict even the basic human needs such as a 'shore leave'.

This questionnaire is part of a research titled "How has the 'Criminalization of Seafarers' impacted the perception of shipping (sailing) as a career ? How can a solution path to this problem be identified? "

The motive behind this research is to identify the extent to which the fear of criminalisation has percolated into the mind of the average seafarer .

For sake of clarification 'Criminalisation of seafarers' does not include instances of piracy.

As a key member of the maritime community, your opinion is extremely valuable to the furtherance of this research and I would very much appreciate it if you could complete the following questionnaire (as applicable). All answers given in these questionnaires will be treated anonymously and with complete confidentiality.

Thank you for volunteering to fill up this questionnaire.