David Dearsley Tribute

Statement from International Chamber of Shipping:

David Dearsley, before the merger with ICS, was Deputy Secretary General of the International Shipping Federation (ISF), with whom he worked from the mid-1970s to 2003. He has sadly passed away, aged 79.

David started his career at sea – something he was very proud of. He probably had more impact than anyone on the current industrial relations landscape in international shipping and the truly excellent relationships which now prevail between maritime employers globally and their seafarers’ trade union counterparts.

Perhaps most importantly, David Dearsley was one of the architects of the ILO Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, and he has sadly just missed the 20th anniversary of the MLC’s tripartite adoption by shipowners’ representatives, unions and governments in Geneva. He was also deeply involved in the negotiations at IMO which led to the radical rewrite of the STCW (seafarers’ training) Convention (STCW  95) which ISF (led by David) had persuaded IMO to undertake in the early 1990s.

David was also very much responsible for the evolution of the International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC) – which he originally ran in the 1980s when it was the “London Committee-Asian Seamen” – into the important employers’ body which now engages in global collective bargaining negotiations directly with the ITF, positively impacting the wages and conditions enjoyed by the majority of the world’s seafarers who live in developing countries.

As the world’s leading expert and practitioner of maritime industrial relations, David was aways a staunch advocate for the best interests of maritime employers, to which he dedicated his entire career ashore.

But David passionately believed that it was always in the enlightened self-interest of shipowners to work to improve conditions on board for the seafarers they employed, including those from the Indian subcontinent and the Philippines where he had many good friends and colleagues who he continued to visit after he retired.

David will be sorely missed by all those in the global shipping industry who knew and worked with him, especially his former ICS colleagues who carry many fond and enjoyable memories. This includes nights in the infamous Mr Pickwick pub in Geneva and “The Halal” curry house in Aldgate, London, where many a deal was struck between David and his seafarer union colleagues and comrades.