International Transportation Workers’ Federation General Secretary David Cockroft has denounced Cambodia for awarding control of its troubled shipping registry to the South Korea-based Cosmos group.
“Cambodia has learned nothing. Once again they are going to put the reputation of their country in the hands of what may prove to be an unaccountable offshore company, and all for a reported $1 million—$0.08 a year for every Cambodian, in the unlikely event it ever reaches them,” Cockroft said in a statement.
The Cosmos contract, brokered by the Council of Ministers, has been widely condemned since it was announced last week. Cosmos registered both the Winner and the Sosan—ships responsible for two of last year’s most high-profile maritime trafficking scandals.
The reportedly cocaine-laden Winner was seized by the French navy, and the Sosan was stopped by the Spanish navy for transporting Scud missiles from North Korea to Yemen in what proved to be a legitimate state-to-state exchange that nonetheless caused an international diplomatic flare-up.
On its Web site, the ITF describes itself as a federation of 604 transport trade unions worldwide founded in 1896. It states that its purpose is to defend the interests of transport workers in the global economy and notes that its “oldest and most famous campaign” has been against flag-of-convenience shipping. The ITF lists the Trade Union of Sihanoukville Port as an affiliate.
“Cambodia’s one chance of cleaning up its register was to slim it down to a national flag and boot out the criminals, the crew exploiters and the coffin ship owners who flocked to it,” Cockroft said.
A local shipping expert estimated that Cosmos stands to make around $25.5 million from the registration of the 927 ships it will inherit from CSC. That figure does not include other fees and the ships Cosmos is likely to register on its own.
“The Cambodian government will annually receive a small $1 million, including all the problems, and accountability,” the expert wrote in an e-mail.
He also said Wednesday that the registry should be run by the government, like most other shipping registries, with outside assistance if necessary. “Most of the revenue should come back to Cambodia,” he said.
Sam Dawson, ITF’s press officer, wrote in an e-mail Wednesday, “I have heard a forecast that the Cambodian registry in its present form will not survive more than another five years—the post-Sept 11 world can no longer allow such a rogue operation. In the meantime we know that states are making their own arrangements, by targeting Cambodian-flagged ships for inspection and, as the Sosan proved, using their navies to observe their movements.”
According to Seng Lim Neou, undersecretary of state for the Council of Ministers, Cosmos is to pay the government $1 million to ensure implementation of the contract, plus between $400,000 and $1.5 million a year.
He also touted Cosmos’ association with the shipping registries of countries such as Belize and Bolivia.
Dawson wrote, “We believe the only [flags of convenience] as bad as the Cambodian one are Belize and Bolivia—certainly any involvement with them is not a matter of pride.”
No one at Cosmos could be reached for comment, but government spokesman Khieu Kanharith has defended the new registry, saying the government will be more vigilant with Cambodian-flagged ships.
