ODESA, AUGUST, 15th, 2009, CONTEXT-PRICHERNOMORIE – Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Nina Karpachova will control the situation with M/V Beriks until all the problems with the crew are solved, Context-Prichernomorie correspondent reports.

The agency was informed about it today, 15 August at the press-service of the Ombudsman of Ukraine.

According to the press-service, “the seafarers of M/V Beriks addressed the Ombudsman of Ukraine asking to protect their rights for life and health (there 200 tons of spoilt meat in the holds of the ship) having drifted for seven month near Ukrainian coastline having no permission to enter any Ukrainian ports. Since 1 August the ship has at last been sent for repair, how many problems of the crew remaining still unsolved.”

“Working on the case, the Commissioner for Human Rights examined the situation requiring to immediately change the vessel’s crew and paying them their salaries in corpore. She held telephone conversations with the Master Leonid Prokhorov, the crew members Dmitry Sukharev and Sergey Olenin. The most urgent social questions concerning the seafarers were discussed. They reported the ship-owner had not signed personal contracts and the charterer – Mykolaiv shipping company Ukrfraht involved them in the ship's transportation having specified nothing but the salary size.

Over a long period of time the ship-owner did not contact the crew, no salary was paid at all food supplies were irregular and not enough. Yet on the 6th of July the seamen signed their letters of resignation, however they were never satisfied.

17 July the Cabinet adopted a Decree “On Creation of an Inter-Departmental Commission for Solution of Problematic Questions and Prevention of the Possible Negative Consequences that May Appear due to M/V Beriks being on the roads to the Yuzhny Commercial Sea Port having a cargo prohibited to be brought to Ukraine onboard.

The Ombudsman forwarded notifications to the Chief of the Inter-Departmental Commission – Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications of Ukraine and First Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy of Ukraine asking to inform the Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights urgently on the terms of employment of the seafarers, to ensure the change of the crew payment of their salaries and compensating the losses the seafarers and their families had suffered.”