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View all search resultsRI sailors adrift in sea of exploitation, precarity
The recent deaths of four Indonesian seafarers have exposed the grim conditions that migrant workers face in the fisheries sector, largely because of a lack of legal protection.
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M
ost Indonesians were taught at school to be proud of their seafaring ancestors, but such pride has not translated into sufficient state protection. The livelihood remains among the most vulnerable to exploitation.
As the International Maritime Organization (IMO) prepares to celebrate the Day of the Seafarer on June 25, public sentiment in Indonesia is dominated by shock and outrage.
In recent months, a series of reports have emerged of Indonesian seafarers enduring poor working conditions aboard Chinese fishing vessels, including grueling hours and inhumane treatment.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi announced in May that four Indonesian sailors who had been registered to the Chinese fishing vessel Long Xin 629 had died.
The deaths of the four sailors, one of whom was buried at sea, exposed the grim conditions that Indonesian migrant workers face in the fisheries sector. Earlier this month, two Indonesians jumped off a Chinese vessel as it was underway in the Strait of Malacca. They were allegedly victims of human trafficking.
According to a report by Destructive Fishing Watch (DFW), at least 30 Indonesian crew members were victims of such violations aboard Chinese vessels between November 2019 and June of this year. Seven of those sailors reportedly died, three remain missing, and 20 have survived.
Anjar Prihantoro, deputy head of protection at the Agency for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BP2MI), said that despite the wide media exposure over the past weeks, China ranks fourth among nations with the highest number of complaints from workers aboard fishing vessels.
