Maersk Line, part of global shipping giant Maersk, has settled a U.S. government complaint over safety concerns.
Maersk Line has settled with the U.S. Department of Labor in a long-running case related to employee safety. The settlement comes three and a half years after the complaint was filed in late 2020.
In December 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), part of the U.S. Department of Labor, filed a case against Maersk Line after a whistleblower complaint was made related to Maersk Line vessel Safmarine Mafadi. The complaint alleged a variety of issues including intoxicated crewmembers, outdated lifeboat equipment, and poor supervision, among more issues. Safmarine Mafadi is a 50,000 ton containership that is nearly 1,000 feet long.
What are the details of the settlement in question?
As part of the settlement, Maersk Line has accepted the responsibility of making some changes: changing safety reporting procedures, paying the whistleblower in question, and clarifying some of its overall labor practices in writing.
Last year, OSHA found Maersk Line liable for violating crew member rights onboard its vessel Safmarine Mafadi. That decision was the precursor to this recent settlement by Maersk Line and the U.S. Department of Labor.
U.S. Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda said in a statement late last week:
“The Department of Labor will enforce workers’ protected rights as whistleblowers under federal law. No employer may violate whistleblower regulations or create policies that require employees to notify their employer before they report concerns to federal regulatory agencies. This seaman showed the kind of bravery for which mariners have long been known by raising concerns that, left unchecked, could have endangered everyone aboard the Safmarine Mafadi.”
For its part, Maersk Line denied the allegations, offering a lengthy defense of its employment practices, but ultimately agreed to the settlement in June.
