UK Branch Conference: members vote unanimously to crack down on lashing and unlashing demands

Nautilus International members have voted overwhelmingly to support a motion calling for stronger protections for seafarers being pressured to carry out lashing and unlashing of cargoes in UK ports.

The decision was taken at the Union's 2025 UK Branch Conference, following growing concerns about safety, fatigue, and failures in the current regulatory and investigative framework.

Presenting the motion, Nautilus/ITF inspector Matt Parsonage told delegates: 'How can we allow seafarers to be exploited in such as way? We can't and we must not. I implore you all to vote in favour of this motion so our union can campaign to remove this scourge from our ports.'

Delegates heard that seafarers are increasingly being asked to undertake cargo lashing work that has traditionally been performed by trained dock workers. The tasks are physically demanding, require specialist skills, and can pose serious risks when carried out without proper training or equipment. The International Transport Workers' Federation's non-seafarers work clause exists specifically to prevent such situations, yet evidence shows that it is not always being respected in UK ports.

The motion highlighted a serious incident involving a seafarer onboard an Antigua & Barbuda-flagged vessel who suffered life-changing injuries while lashing cargo at the Port of Liverpool. It expressed deep concern at subsequent confusion among UK authorities (the MCA, MAIB and HSE) over who was responsible for investigating the accident, with information only emerging after Freedom of Information requests and a promised flag state investigation yet to be published.

The motion commits the Union to:

• seek to ensure that lashing and unlashing work that is not safe for dock workers to undertake is not outsourced to seafarers in UK ports
• campaign to ensure seafarers are not required to undertake tasks for which they are not specifically trained or equipped, including as lashing and unlashing
• provide members with advice and support relating to their rights when asked to perform such tasks and to urge interested stakeholders such as the ITF and the UK Merchant Navy Welfare Board to do likewise for seafarers visiting UK ports
• work with dockers' unions in the UK to ensure that the tasks of dock workers are safely completed by dock workers
• work to ensure that the Memorandum of Understanding held between the MCA, HSE and MAIB is fit for purpose, and that UK authorities are clear on the responsibility for investigations of such incidents
• pursue the publication of incident reports as required by national and international regulationswork with international partners (such as the ITF) to ensure that intelligence gathered from incidents of malpractice and unsafe operations is shared.