PEMEN – STEFENSON: No ship in a war zone! 24-hour strike of seafarers on Thursday — The seafarers trapped in the Persian Gulf must return home safely NOW.
A 24-hour nationwide warning strike in all categories of vessels has been declared by the seafarers’ unions for Thursday, March 5.
No sacrifice for the profits and wars of the shipowners!
No trust in the government or in those who gamble with the lives of seafarers!
The pursuit of maximum profit leads to wars and drives peoples to destruction.
The government and the shipowners are openly exposed, as they sent seafarers into the heart of the war without ensuring the protection of human life at sea, without any provision or plan for their evacuation and repatriation.
Shipowners sent their vessels into the Persian Gulf, gambling with the lives of hundreds of seafarers in order to increase their profits. They are shameless and ruthless. War is fertilizer for the freight rates secured by shipowners, because they rise as the likelihood of war increases, proving that from war and from the country’s involvement they are the ones who profit.
War drones are striking targets just a breath away from the stranded vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Two ships have already come under fire and there are already dead and injured seafarers.
Once again, seafarers find themselves in the “minefields” of imperialist rivalries, becoming victims of imperialist plans and military conflicts.
And because “in troubled waters the wolf rejoices,” ferry shipowners, with the support of the government, are planning missions of high-speed vessels to Israel. We make it clear that they will find us in front of them in any action that puts seafarers’ lives at risk.
We call on our members and all seafarers not to give in to the carrot or the whip of the shipowners and risk their lives in voyages to war zones. They must immediately inform the unions about the reckless plans of the shipping companies.
At these moments we stand next to the families of our colleagues. No one is alone in these difficult hours.
Through the organized and determined struggle of seafarers, together with all workers, we strengthen the fight for the disengagement of our country from the war slaughter.
We demand:
No ship in a war zone! All areas where military conflicts are taking place must immediately be declared war zones.
The authorities must immediately provide information about the merchant ships and seafarers trapped in the Persian Gulf and responsibly inform their families.
Immediate measures must be taken, without pretexts or delays, to ensure the safe repatriation of all seafarers, without any conditions or financial burden.
The safety of the cadets at the Merchant Marine Academy of Chania must be guaranteed, as the academy is located just next to the NATO base of Souda.