29 August 2008
MUA news
Crew on board the MT Seakap in Port Kembla tonight have sent a letter to the Minister for Transport Anthony Albanese condemning a decision by US based shipping company Koppers to replace the Australian flagged and crewed vessel with a foreign vessel working the Australian coast with guest workers. The Seakap is due into the port of Newcastle tomorrow morning. This is their letter:
"Minister, We the crew of the M.T. Seakap condemn in the strongest possible terms the deplorable actions of Koppers Australia in seeing off this Australian flagged and manned vessel and replacing it with a foreign manned vessel. This exporting of Australian jobs fly in the face of the Rudd Government's inquiry into the coastal shipping policy and regulation that is attempting to revitalize the Australian shipping industry.
We believe this blatant abuse of the Single Voyage Permit and Multi Voyage Permit Systems is nothing less then an attack on Australian seafaerers' rights to transport Australian cargoes on the Australian coast.
The crew of the M.T. Seakap calls on the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Anthony Albanese to publicly support us in this struggle to protect Australian jobs."
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