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Panama authorities inspect working and living conditions on shipsPanama authorities inspect working and living conditions on ships

The Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) carried out 289 maritime labour inspections in 2021 on board Panama-flagged vessels, double the number in the previous year.

Michele Labrut, Americas Correspondent

February 22, 2022

1 Min Read
AMP labour inspection
Photo: AMP

The inspection on both domestic and international trading vessels under the Panama-flag targeted compliance with living and working conditions for seafarers onboard vessels.

The types of vessels inspected included cargo ships, dry goods, bulk carriers, barges, container ships, tugboats, tankers, supply, and inland waterway passenger transport.

Some 72 ships were found to have some type of labour deficiency, with 38 re-inspections taking place later in the year. 

Seafarers filed 243 labour complaints and 19 labour conciliations were processed. Labour conciliation is an alternative method of conflict resolution that involves a voluntary negotiation procedure between the shipowner, or his representative, and the worker or his representative.

 

 

About the Author

Michele Labrut

Americas Correspondent

Michèle Labrut is a long-time Panama resident, a journalist and correspondent, and has continuously covered the maritime sector of Central & Latin America.

Michèle first came to Panama as a press attaché to the French Embassy and then returned to the isthmus as a foreign correspondent in the 1980s.

Author of Seatrade Maritime's annual Panama Maritime Review magazine and of several books, Michèle also wrote for Time magazine, The Miami Herald, NBC News and the Economist Intelligence Unit. She has also collaborated in making several documentaries for the BBC and European and U.S. television networks.

Michèle's profession necessitates a profound knowledge of the country, but her acumen is not from necessity alone, but a genuine passion for Panama.

In 2012 she was awarded the Order of Merit (Knight grade) by the French Government for her services to international journalism and in 2021 the upgrade to Chevalier grade.

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