(Trois-Rivières) Organizations are worried about eleven sailors who are spending a harsh Quebec winter aboard three tug boats held for months in the port of Trois-Rivières.
Paul Racette, who heads the local nonprofit Foyer des Marineurs, said the workers, from Mexico, Cuba and Guyana, were not used to winter.
“For them, 17 degrees is cold, so imagine having to work outside at the temperatures we have now,” he explained.
In addition, they spend the winter on the moored tugboats, which he says are not designed for long-term living there.
“It’s very small, it’s cramped, there are no amenities inside, so that’s a problem,” he said.
The boats, which measure between 30 and 40 meters, were sold last year to a company that wants to bring them to Guyana. But they have been detained in the port of Trois-Rivières since October because of what Transport Canada describes as “non-compliance with various international maritime conventions”, including labor standards that ensure the well-being of the crew.
“Before allowing vessels to depart, Transport Canada will verify that these issues have been rectified,” wrote spokeswoman Sau Sau Liu.
Mr. Racette said that although there were initially about 25 crew members, their number fell to 11 as some left.
On a recent visit, two of the three tugboats were moored on the edge of the river, dwarfed by the much larger vessel behind them. Canadian and Guyanese flags fluttered in the wind as heavy snow fell.
None of the crew members went out when a reporter visited. According to Mr. Racette, none of them wanted to speak to the media for fear of reprisals.
Seafarers’ International Union of Canada Vice-President Saint-Laurent and East Coast, Vince Giannopoulos, said he was concerned about the working and living conditions on board the ships.
Mr Giannopoulos, who worked with the crew, said some of the seafarers were sent to the ships with only verbal agreements about their pay, only to find on arrival that the compensation in the written contract was far less than the promised one.
His visits to the ships, the most recent of which was in December, revealed “all sorts of problems”, he said, such as a lack of safety equipment, cold weather and inadequate food.
“During a few of my visits, the crew received Mr. Noodles [des nouilles instantanées] three times a day, he said. It was their breakfast, their lunch and their dinner. »
Mark Wong, a sailor from Guyana, spent six months aboard the craft as an engineer before returning home at the end of December.
While he found conditions aboard the tugboats to be generally good, the 59-year-old said it was the first time he had been stuck on a vessel held in port for so long.
He remembers the “terrible” arrival of winter, and his most vivid memory is the ice on the bridge. “I’m not used to it,” he said.
Mr Wong said he was one of those who arrived without a contract and, although he received his salary, he says the company still owes him his paid leave money.
Despite the problems, he would be ready to return, but “not in winter”.
Mr. Racette maintained that the Foyer des marin, which has a small budget and is mainly run by volunteers, does what it can to support the crew. Members visit the ships to chat and encourage sailors to visit their club, which has a pool table, snacks, comfy chairs and internet access.
Volunteers have volunteered to help drive some of the crew to shopping malls or to a church service in Spanish, while others have donated warm clothes. More recently, he appealed for donations to take the crew out to eat or go bowling.
While it’s unclear how long it will take before the tugboats are cleared to leave Trois-Rivières, Racette estimates they’ll stay in port at least until the snow melts in April. .