$1,000 for a seaman’s certificate: union cites state-owned enterprise’s opaque fees
24 March 18:42
The All-Ukrainian Trade Union “Ukrainian Seafarers’ Association” has reported opaque pricing for the issuance of seafarer’s identity cards (SIC) abroad, according to [Komersant].
According to representatives of the organization, the state-owned enterprise Service Center for Maritime and River Transport has set a price of approximately $1,000 for processing the document in Warsaw.
The union considers this cost unjustified and is asking the government to intervene.
Appeal to Government Officials
The Ukrainian Seafarers’ Association has sent an appeal to a number of high-ranking officials, including:
- Ruslan Stefanchuk
- Yulia Svyrydenko
- Oleksiy Kuleba
- Pavlo Kyrylenko
In the appeal, the seafarers ask to review the pricing system and take action to address the situation.
What exactly are the complaints?
The union claims that the Service Center for Maritime and River Transport holds a monopoly on issuing seafarer’s certificates abroad.
According to them:
- processing the document within 7 business days costs about $1,000;
- this is nearly 20 times more expensive than a similar document in Poland.
The organization attempted to obtain an explanation regarding the fee structure, but the company refused to provide calculations, citing trade secrets.
What the fee consists of
According to the union, the cost structure looks like this:
Processing in 20 business days
- 26,433 UAH in total, of which:
- 1,183 UAH — administrative service
- 25,260 UAH — “organizational and technical services for the trial test”
Processing in 7 business days
- 43,788 UAH total, of which:
- 1,788 UAH — administrative service
- 42,000 UAH — “organizational and technical services for the pilot test”
It is these additional organizational and technical services that account for the majority of the cost.
The union claims that without paying for them, a sailor cannot actually obtain a certificate, meaning they are not a voluntary service.
Questions regarding tariff transparency
The union’s appeal also highlights several issues:
- the document with the rates on the company’s website lacks a signature and seal;
- there are no publicly available decisions approving the rates;
- there is no public breakdown of service costs.
According to the union, this could create a non-transparent pricing system.
Reaction from government agencies
Previously, the union had already appealed to:
- the National Agency for Corruption Prevention
- The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights
However, according to the sailors, the response was either not provided in a timely manner or was merely formal.
Sailors’ protests
At the end of last year, dozens of Ukrainian sailors stationed in various countries around the world recorded a video appeal to the authorities.
In it, they called for an end to what they claim is a new wave of corruption in the processing of maritime documents.
A seafarer’s identity card is a key document for maritime industry workers, used for:
- identifying seafarers;
- obtaining visas;
- accessing ports and ships.
Due to the war and travel restrictions, a significant number of Ukrainian seafarers are processing their documents abroad, particularly in Warsaw, making the cost of such services a particularly sensitive issue for the industry.
