Reflection from Julia Cooper
“Hey, can you check in on this tug crew?”
We received a tip about a month ago from our local ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) representative that something wasn’t right onboard the Wycliffe tugboat. He asked if we could visit the crew and see if they had enough food and water.
This crew had been hired from South America to tow 2 decommissioned Washington State ferries to Ecuador to be sold for scrap metal. The towing plan had been in the works for almost a year, and this was the third or fourth iteration of crewmembers on the tugboat. While they all had seafarer visas, they were no longer allowed to leave the boat due to US customs restrictions because they had been in the country for over 29 days.
Our team had never visited a tugboat before, or a boat at this specific terminal, so it took some wandering around West Seattle to find the right place. Once Rich and I arrived, it was another adventure to get onboard. The Wycliffe was not moored directly to the dock but to another tugboat. It was low tide, which meant the two boats were a good 10 feet lower than the dock, and the only way down was to descend a vertical ladder crusted over with barnacles.
“Hello?” We called from the dock to see if any crew were around to help us onboard.
A seafarer in coveralls peeped his head out of the Wycliffe. “¡Hola, mis amigos!” He climbed out of the accommodation, made his way over the other tugboat to reach us, and motioned for us to climb down. We carefully made our way down the ladder, and the seafarer held out a firm hand for each of us to grab as we stepped onto the tugboat fenders and then the boat.
“¡Bienvenidos!” We shook hands and introduced ourselves. For the sake of privacy, let’s call this seafarer Luis. Luis whistled to summon his fellow crewmembers, Mateo and Felipe, and we all gathered together in their kitchen area.
The crew’s English was about as good as my Spanish… Needless to say, communication was a bit of a challenge. But we managed through some garbled Spanglish to explain that we were representatives from the Seafarers Center and could go shopping for them if they needed any food or water. Their eyes lit up and they started compiling a shopping list, which included essentials such as bottled water, fruit, tortillas, eggs, chicken, as well as some condiments, and a few treats - chocolate, candy, cake. It was not clear when the owner had last brought them provisions, but they were definitely low on food and drinking water and did not have all of the cooking staples they needed. They said the owner was often out of the country and hard to reach.
Rich then called up a friend who was fluent in Spanish and could translate over the phone, and we asked the crew if there were any other issues onboard. It became evident that the crew were short on at least a month’s worth of wages. Luis had recently received a paper check for his payment, but he could not cash it because he was not allowed off the boat due to his visa status. We assured them that we would connect with the ITF about their owed wages.
Mateo and Felipe shook our hands as we departed the boat and Luis gave us each a hug. “Gracias, gracias por visitarnos.”
After shopping trips to Fred Meyer and Costco and a stop at our Seafarers Center to grab some ditty bags for each of the crew, we returned with several IKEA bags full of food and supplies. There was a rope on the dock which we were able to use to lower the bags down to the boat.
We had noticed a fancy red sports car parked by the dock, and Luis explained that the owner had just arrived. We carried the bags of food to the accommodation and introduced ourselves to the owner. He seemed suspicious about our presence on the boat. “I provide them with provisions every week - why are you bringing them food?”
Rich answered in an innocent tone, “Because we’re nice people.”
Felipe had requested earlier that we bring him a SIM card for his phone because his was not working well. As we tried to set up a new one for him, the owner pushed back. “I gave them SIM cards, they don’t need that one.” Felipe took his phone back. He looked like he wanted to speak up but was intimidated by the owner. We tried to ask the crew a few more questions before we left, and the owner translated between us. He was almost mocking the crew’s language skills. “You don’t understand anything they’re saying, do you?” It was an uncomfortable encounter.
We had gotten the guys’ WhatsApp numbers before we left, and so we kept in touch over the following week. They had a few more shopping requests, and Luis also requested medication. Through Google translate, he explained that he had fallen while on the boat a month ago; he had potentially suffered an internal injury and for a time he was in a great deal of pain. He had not received any medical attention but claimed that he was a lot better now. He just wanted some preventative medications to stay in good health.
This was concerning. It didn’t sound like the over-the-counter vitamins Luis was requesting were what he really needed. The process to take him to a medical clinic would have been complicated because of his visa status, but we explained that it could be done – Customs and Border Protection would just need to issue a visa extension or provide a parole officer to accompany him. Luis said that he was fine, he didn’t want to cause any trouble, and he would just wait until he got home to see a doctor. But they still didn’t know when the tugboat was leaving for Ecuador, and the journey would take them at least 35 days - it would be a while until he reached home.
We encouraged Luis again to seek medical attention but he was insistent on waiting until he reached home, and in the end we had to respect that. I just wonder if that was really his first choice, or if he felt like he had no other choice. If he’d had free access to land and medical care, would he have sought a doctor as soon as this incident occurred a month ago? How much pain would he have endured in order to “not make any problems” and to avoid jeopardizing his visa status or future employment opportunities? Did he inform the owner about this injury? If yes, why did the owner not respond appropriately? If no, why did he not feel empowered to speak up for his needs?
Rich, Deacon Joey and I continued visiting the crew over the next couple of weeks. A new crewmember arrived - Rodrigo - the chief mate. Rodrigo was confident and in high spirits, ready for the job. He spoke a bit more English than the other 3 crewmembers, and always assured us that things were well onboard. He had not received travel reimbursement from the owner for his expenses to get to the boat from his home country, but he was not too worried about it - he assumed the owner would pay him at the end of his first month. The other crew, however, were becoming more concerned about their overdue wages. We asked how we could help but they were hesitant to take any action, hoping for the best - that the owner would eventually pay them and they wouldn’t have to cause any trouble. “Let’s wait until the end of the month and see if the owner pays us then.” July ended. “Let’s wait until Friday.” Still nothing. “Let’s see if he pays us on Monday.” Nada.
Eventually tow day arrived – this had been pushed out week after week, and finally they were scheduled to pick up the two ferries from Bainbridge Island. We wished them a safe journey. But they didn’t even make it out of the harbor – we got a call in the afternoon from our ITF representative, sharing that the towing equipment malfunctioned while they were attempting to pick up the ferries and now they were back at the dock.
Rodrigo messaged us early the next morning asking if we could pick up medication for him - he thought he had an infection. The crew was working on fixing the towing equipment and he expected they’d be leaving later that morning, so time was limited. We ran to the pharmacy and got him an over-the-counter medication, but we couldn’t get antibiotics without a prescription. Now, Rodrigo was in a different visa situation than the other three crew - he still had the freedom to come ashore because he had only recently arrived to the US. We asked if we could take him to a medical clinic so he could get a prescription. He was thankful for the over-the-counter medications but declined our offer to go to a clinic - like Luis, he didn’t want to cause any trouble. He was worried about delaying the vessel’s departure and didn’t think his medical issues were serious. We were concerned again - the crew were about to depart on a 35+ day journey to Ecuador, and an infection left untreated was serious business.
We received news later in the afternoon that the owner had lost his insurance underwriters and the tow job was postponed. I messaged Rodrigo to ask if he was interested in going to a medical clinic now that they were delayed, and he promptly responded yes. He did not have medical insurance, but we made some calls and were able to find a pay-what-you-can clinic downtown that had walk-in appointments available. We arrived 2 minutes before the walk-in window closed and got him in to see a doctor with a Spanish interpreter. I picked him up after the appointment and we waited for his prescription medication at the pharmacy. It turns out he was experiencing a different medical issue than what he thought it was, and so I am glad that he was able to get properly diagnosed and receive the exact medication he needed. As we waited, he told me the latest news that the owner had lost his towing contract and now he was planning to send the crew home. They were worried that he would not pay their owed wages before doing that. But he asked us to not take any actions or raise the concern until they met with the owner the next day. Again, they didn’t want to cause any trouble.
Over the next few days, we talked with Customs and Border Protection to alert them of the situation. Our worry was that it would be harder to track down the owner and make sure the crew were paid their owed wages once they had gone home. As the crews’ shore leave had expired, CBP would need to provide a parole officer to escort them to the airport when they flew home. Our ITF representative specifically asked them if they could ensure that the crew had been fully paid by the owner before providing an escort.
We visited the crew the next Monday and their spirits were considerably lower. Rodrigo had lost his initial optimism about their situation. The crew were all frustrated that they hadn’t been paid yet, and they were worried about their situation. The owner had purchased a plane ticket for Rodrigo to leave that day, not realizing that he had just exceeded his 29-day period of shore leave in the US and could no longer leave without an escort. While we were visiting, three officers from CBP arrived. One was fluent in Spanish and spoke with the crew about their visa situation. They had many questions for him, especially about their visas and future employment opportunities in the US. Rodrigo, for example, had lined up another contract that would start in a couple of weeks. Would he be able to return to the US on his current visa within that time period, or would he face restrictions? And could CBP ensure that the owner paid them their missing wages before they went home?
The CBP officers determined that the crew now had no legal status in the US because their work contract had been terminated. They discussed taking the crew to a detention facility at the airport where they could stay until the owner purchased them tickets home - or, if the owner had abandoned them, until a charitable organization like ours purchased their way home. In the end, they decided to deliberate more with their team, but they took the crewmembers’ passports with them and told them to get ready to leave later that day.
We received this email from Felipe afterwards:
“I am interested in a lawyer, but I will confirm tomorrow afternoon. Today was a difficult day for us because the CBP authorities arrived, they asked for our passports and took them away and told us to pack our bags, that we were illegal and that they would come back for us at any moment to travel to our destination countries. I complained about the payment of our salaries, he said that they did not look into that issue, I told him that I was going to consult with a lawyer before traveling. A week ago, that same officer had told us that this would not affect our sailor visas, but today he told us that they were going to cancel that visa despite it being the owner's responsibility…”
This email highlights the lack of dignity and rights offered to foreign seafarers in our immigration system. This crew had followed all of the rules pertaining to their visas and work contracts, and yet they were being treated by the system as less than human. At no fault of their own, they were now stuck in a very unstable employment situation and there was no guarantee that they would be paid for their work or be repatriated any time soon. They were completely at the mercy of the owner and US customs, and might have to wait in a detention facility while their status was resolved.
The story ends on a mostly positive note. Later that week Rodrigo told us that Customs was coming to pick them up. The owner had finally purchased valid plane tickets for all of the crew. CBP called the owner down to their offices that day and he paid the crew further wages. The crew were taken to the airport, and we received updates from Rodrigo and Luis as they were journeying home. Luis offered us “many hugs and a thousand blessings” as he made his way through Cartagena. We heard the following week that he had seen a doctor and was receiving the treatment he needed. We don’t know how this situation impacted each of the crews’ work visas, but for now, we are thankful that they made it home safely with more wages in pocket.
Rich with the crew sporting Seattle Seafarers Center hats
A few words from Rich:
There are two considerations that would help prevent this kind of situation. One is the United States reconsidering at ratifying the Maritime Labor Convention of 2006. This international agreement would allow the US Coast Guard to ensure that basic rights are upheld while foreign ships are in US Waters. Related to that, the ability for seafarers to have basic shore leave is an important support for their physical and emotional health. We need to find ways for more seafarers and fishing crews to have access to shore leave while they are in US waters.
We were blessed to get to know these four over time. While appreciating that blessing, we hope to prevent future crew members from being restricted to such small quarters.
In the News
Seattle Times
King 5
Fox 13 Seattle
International Transport Workers' Federation
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