MYANMA Insurance paid out more than K60 million in compensation on May 25 to the families of 12 seaman who had died and to four seamen who had suffered injuries on the job.

The families of each deceased seaman received K5 million from the insurance company, while the amount paid to the injured parties varied according to the severity of the injury.

Of the 12 dead seamen, three were killed when their ships sank, one was crushed under a crane, one drowned after falling into the water from a ship’s mast and seven died from illnesses, according to Myanma Insurance records.
Two of the sailors died when their ship sank near Japan in 2005 while the rest had died earlier this year.

Of the injured seamen, two received compensation of K120,000 each – one for a stomach injury and one for an accident that resulted in two broken arms and a shattered pubic bone.

Another sailor whose fingers were severed by a machine was awarded K105,000, while K36,000 was paid out to a seaman who slipped and broke his left arm.

According to Major Thaung Kyaing, the director of the Department of Marine Administration under the Ministry of Transport, the seamen’s insurance program was started in fiscal 2003-2004 by the department in cooperation with Myanma Insurance under the Ministry of Finance and Revenue.

“It is not compulsory for seamen to get insurance but more and more of them are signing up. In 2004-2005 more than 12,000 sailors were insured while in 2006-2007 the number had increased to more than 17,000,” he said.

The premium is K25,000 a year. If a seaman is on a ship when his policy expires, it can be renewed by his family, Major Thaung Kyaing said.