Warning with Crew to Fiji (maybe elsewhere)

[aberglas]

My neighbor had a nightmare crew, broke stuff, stole stuff, and then did a runner off the boat without checking out properly.


The bureaucrats said that the captain must bring him back which was impossible, and with no help. He was impounded for weeks, and had a huge fine reduced to "only" $4,000.



As captain, you are responsible for your crew although you have no power over them. Take their passports and lock them up front. Make them have an onward ticket (they can cash in later). And if any doubts get them off the boat as soon as you arrive. They can come back later.

[kmason]

Condition of passage as crew should be you surrender your passport to ship's captain until clearance at next port.

[JPA Cate]

It's all very well to say, but retaining passports in order to keep crew aboard also happens and it is wrong to take crew prisoner. (Happened to a woman acquaintance in the Societies.)

I think the issue highlights the dangers of taking people whom you've just met on as crew. Taking on unknown crew OR an unknown skipper are both dangerous.

This issue has come up, here at least once a year for a long time.



Ann

[kmason]

It should be a choice... that's what I mean by "condition of passage". It's a choice. I'm certainly not talking about taking prisoners, slaves or indentured servitude. Did I mention it should be a choice?

Taking unknown entities onboard a vessel requires a high level of trust between all parties. I know there are a lot of bad stories concerning temporary crew. I don't have that level of trust so I keep it to people I know and can rely on.

[JPA Cate]

How very wise and sensible!

Ann

[aberglas]

Holding passports is not very helpful.


In my neighbors situation, he had the passport but the crew just went to the French Embassy and got a new passport, claiming his life was in danger(!) (Latter might be true if the captain ever caught up with him!)



Your real claim is on their luggage, must not leave the boat. His crew snuck the luggage out while he was temporarily away.

[Time2Go]

Originally Posted by kmason

Condition of passage as crew should be you surrender your passport to ship's captain until clearance at next port.

I have crewed on many boats both in Europe and Caribbean
and have always asked if the captain/owner was going to ask
to hold onto my passport. If the answer was yes I did not join
the crew. I would never give up my passport and become
basically a prisoner. This is especially important to
females looking for a crew spot.
If the person in this story got a new passport and left the island
by air did he not clear out at the airport?
I have arrived at many many places by boat and then flown back home
from both European and Carribean countries and never heard of
any issues from the boat I got off.
Something doesn't add up here
Cheers

[aberglas]

When crew leave a boat in Fiji they need to be officially signed off. With a rubber stamp. They will need an Onward Ticket ($16 from OnwardTicket.com). Does not matter if crew left the country, this is bureaucracy.