U.S. and international maritime labor groups are protesting a move by the Panama Canal Authority to discipline 22 canal tugboat captains who complain that short staffing has increased danger to crews.
In an April 12 job action, the captains refused to work until the authority addressed their concerns, leading to the threat of losing their jobs.
Canal authority officials pushed back hard. In a statement promising to the discipline tug operators, the authority asserted the their job action posed an economic threat to the nation.
“This is a very complex operation, shoehorning large ships into a small space with little margin,” said Capt. Don Marcus, President of the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots, in a statement supporting the canal captains. “This was dangerous work before ACP lowered standards. Long hours combined with fewer crewmembers, using underpowered tugs, is making a bad situation worse.”
“The Panama Canal Authority spent billions to expand the Canal but has failed to hire the necessary number of people and buy the equipment they need to run it properly,” said Marcus. “If you don’t have enough hands on deck, you are putting lives at risk.”
