Nautilus pressure wins Middle East hazard pay from Dutch shipowners

Merchant seafarers stuck on Dutch vessels in the Middle East will now receive hazard pay equal to double their salaries, thanks to Nautilus International.

Shipowners in the Netherlands had previously been refusing to designate the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman as 'War Zones'.

The employers had agreed to the designation 'Dangerous Passage Areas', meaning that seafarers could not be compelled to sail there.

But this did not help seafarers who were already stranded in the region and unable to leave due to the sudden outbreak of war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Nautilus was pressing the employers to upgrade the designation to War Zones, meaning that seafarers would be entitled to hazard pay of double their usual salary – as agreed in the collective bargaining agreements the Union has with the shipowners.

After holding out for over a week, the threat of legal action from Nautilus seems to have had an effect on the Dutch shipowners, who have now agreed to the War Zones designation and double pay for the stranded seafarers.

Nautilus executive officer Richard Moti welcomed the shipowners' change of heart, commenting: 'Our seafarers are facing harsh circumstances at this moment. This should be recognised by the shipping companies. We are glad that we finally have an agreement that seafarers deserve a higher wage if they are working under these circumstances.'