WJ5.25 Desertion

WJ5.25.1 Prevention of Ship desertion risk

The employer must implement measures to assist in managing the risk of desertion while the vessel is in port. This may include, as appropriate:

1. ensuring foreign crew have, at minimum, the identification required by port company security;
2. using port company security systems to monitor activity to and from the vessel;
3. briefing vessel watchmen to record the number plates of unidentified vehicles seen around the vessel; and
4. implementing a foreign crew shore leave policy and other similar measures to maintain contact with foreign crew while ashore.

Note: In implementing a shore leave policy and otherwise managing foreign crew desertion risks it is acknowledged that foreign crew are entitled to shore leave and it is not the intent of this section to prevent foreign crew from being able to take appropriate shore leave.

WJ5.25.5 Notification of desertion & related information

1. The employer must advise Immigration New Zealand (INZ) as soon as practicable of any information that may assist to prevent any desertion or to apprehend foreign crew who have deserted and those people who encourage or assist foreign crew to desert in breach of their work visa conditions.
2. This information should be forwarded to the Compliance Operations branch of INZ in Christchurch.
3. Where crew desert ship, the employer must abide by a two stage notification process:
   1. Stage one: When it is determined by an employer that a foreign crew member has deserted, the employer must notify INZ as soon as practicable within 48 hours, using the form Formal Notification of Crew Deserter (INZ 1212).
   2. The employer must at this time surrender the foreign crew member’s passport and Seaman’s Book to INZ (if in the Employer’s possession). At this point the foreign crew member will be considered in breach of the conditions of their work visa, and INZ may commence with compliance action against the individual crew member and the employer if appropriate. The personal details of the ship deserter will be added to ship deserter statistics.
   3. Stage two: In the case of a foreign crew member missing at vessel departure, notification must be made as soon as practicable within 48 hours of the time the vessel leaves port, or within 24 hours of the time the foreign crew member is noted as missing during transit to/from a vessel.

WJ5.25.10 Records of desertion & associated companies

An employer who has been recorded as associated with a deserter under the process above, may apply in writing for that record to be removed from the record of ship deserters in the following circumstances:

1. the foreign crew member subsequently returns to their vessel, leaves New Zealand, surrenders to Immigration New Zealand or contacts the employer before any deportation liability notice against them becomes effective; and
2. the employer can otherwise show good cause why the foreign crew member should not be considered a deserter.

Note: INZ will advise the employer in writing of the acceptance or rejection (including reasons for such rejection) of the request for desertion record removal.

Effective 08/05/2017