Efforts to provide assistance and comfort to crew members on a boat that has been docked at the wharf in Port Hawkesbury for more than a year are certainly heartwarming.
Five crew members of the Dutch Runner – including three Peruvians, one worker from Honduras and another from the Dominican Republic – left the boat on November 7 and filed an official complaint with Transport Canada, nearly three months after they were taken to Port Hawkesbury with the intent of preparing the cargo ship to be transferred from its current Canadian ownership to the flag of Panama.
An Atlantic Canadian inspector with the International Transport Workers Federation (ITWF) confirmed that one of the crew members received back pay and repatriation and returned home, but the federation was helping the remaining crew until the owners were able to bring in new mariners to finally remove the ship.
The ITWF explained that at one time there was a full crew in Port Hawkesbury. Members of the “upper crew” received their money and were able to fly home. Other crew members who had not been paid were stranded, and when the owner’s leadership team left for Miami, the remaining crew members walked off the job.
Recent developments provide some hope for the remaining crew. The owner has confirmed that the remaining crew has been paid and left the country two weeks ago.
They also confirmed that they expect the Dutch Runner to leave Port Hawkesbury in the next two weeks.
Without getting mired in the awfulness of the Dutch Runner mess, it was welcome news that the community, including local Unifor members, provincial charities, residents, and local businesses rallied around the stranded crew, providing WiFi access and donating money, clothes, water, and space heaters.
At this time of year, when people become obsessed with commercialism, this is a great example of the power of charity to not just help people in need, but empower communities and those dispossessed by forces beyond their control to overcome problems and find solutions.
It is great to hear that these crew members will be spending the holidays with their loved ones, in their homes and in their communities.
But without the outpouring of support from the community, it’s hard to fathom if that would have ever happened.