4:29 am Tuesday, March 14, 2017 By: Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho Recruitment agencies and foreign principals and employers are prohibited from withholding travel documents of OFWs, including seafarers, as provided for by rules and regulations governing the recruitment and employment of OFWs. In many instances of non-deployment, many seafarers complain of withholding of travel documents…
2:52 am Monday, March 13, 2017 By: Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho Know Your Rights! From the ITF website Seafarers’ right is a complex area since your rights can exist at different levels and they can be overlapping and sometimes conflicting. Therefore if you have a legal problem, you will need to seek advice from your…
5:58 am Friday, March 3, 2017 By: Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho Insubordination is one actuation identified by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration- Standard Employment Contract (POEA-SEC) as a ground for dismissal of Filipino Seafarers. It consists of any of the following: any act of disobedience to lawful orders of a superior officer attempting to assault a superior…
2:37 am Thursday, February 16, 2017 By: Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho Shore leave is an ancient and cherished seafarers’ right that should not be denied except for compelling reasons. Shore leave is defined as the period during which a sailor is allowed to take a leave from the ship while the vessel he is working…
9:31 pm Sunday, February 12, 2017 By: Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho What is the liability of the foreign principal and the manning agent for any and all claims arising out of an employer-employee relationship or by virtue of any law or contract involving a seafarer? It is “joint and several”, according to the case…
5:48 pm Saturday, February 11, 2017 By: Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho (Reposting an interesting piece from Marine Insight “10 Professional Mistakes Seafarers Should Never Make Onboard Ships“) There is no dearth of stress on board ships. Ask a seafarer and you will know what it takes to work on board. It is the ultimate test…
1:20 am Saturday, February 11, 2017 By: Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho Before a seafarer can be dismissed and discharged from the vessel, it is required that he be given a written notice regarding the charges against him and that he be afforded a formal investigation where he could defend himself personally. Section 33 of the…
1:50pm February 10, 2017 By: Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho The experience of a Korean seafarer posted by Humans at Sea focused on inaction of the owner after he suffered an accident while on board the vessel during the effectivity of his employment contract. The owner refused to send him to a doctor despite…
3:51 am Friday, February 10, 2017 By: Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, into a ship, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. The verb smuggle, from Low German schmuggeln or Dutch smokkelen (=”to transport (goods) illegally”), apparently a frequentative formation of a word meaning “to sneak”, most likely entered the English language…
2:37 am Monday, February 6, 2017 By: Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho Newspapers reported that a 19-year-old cadet from India died last March 29, 2017 on board a merchant ship in Brussels, Belgium. Earlier, MV Starlite Atlantic sank the morning of December 26, 2016 off Tingloy, Batangas due to the onslaught of Typhoon Nina. Fourteen of the 33 crewmen onboard…