Nautilus Federation supports Seafarers' Union of Croatia over ferry crew criminalisation

The Nautilus Federation is supporting member union the Seafarers' Union of Croatia (SUC) as it tackles a serious incident of criminalisation, which has occurred after a fatal accident onboard the ferry Lastovo.

On 11 August 2024, seafarers were checking problems with the Lastovo's bow ramp seal while the 55-year-old ferry was berthed at a terminal on the Adriatic island of Mali Losinj. The ramp unexpectedly fell, instantly killing three seafarers and seriously injuring a fourth.

Separate investigations by the Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure and the Croatian National Investigation Agency subsequently found the company's safety procedures to be deficient in the lead-up to the accident, and laid the responsibility for the deficiencies at the door of the president of the board of the company involved, Jadrolinija Rijeka.

Jadrolinija Rijeka maintains several old and poorly maintained ships according to the SUC, and experienced 16 serious issues during 2024 alone including four other incidents of ramp failure and ramp collapse.

Despite this, six months after the accident the State Attorney's Office initiated a criminal investigation only against the master, first officer and bosun of the ferry – who now face up to 15 years' imprisonment. The company has not been held accountable.

In a letter to the Nautilus Federation, Neven Melvan, general secretary of the SUC said: 'Due to what we see as the political intimidation of the seafarers and attempted rescue of the company's board, we are looking forward to your support by making clear we have the international seafarers' community on our side.'

The Federation has pledged its solidary. Mark Dickinson, in his role as director of the Federation, replied: 'Criminalisation of maritime professionals is a major concern for trade unions such as ours. It often seems that seafarers are an easy scapegoat for incidents such as this, despite the industry-wide recruitment and retention crisis.

'It is important that we can work together across borders to achieve fair treatment of seafarers and to end criminalisation. Together with the Nautilus Federation and the International Transport Workers' Federation, we will seek to ensure that seafarers are not unfairly prosecuted for matters over which they have no control.'