In October the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre invited StarOcean Manning to respond to an article by Philippine News Agency which alleges a Filipino migrant worker, whose staffing agency was StarOcean, died on board the Star Gwyneth bulk carrier while on port call in the UAE. The worker had allegedly performed ‘exhaustive’ work under ‘scorching heat’ for 38 hours, with only a two-hour rest, before his death.

In StarOcean’s answer we invited it to:

1. Respond to allegations of the worker being ordered "to perform exhaustive cleaning and sweeping under scorching heat"; and,
2. Disclose information on how the company is addressing the risk of heat exposure and heat stress for crews in the workplace, including crews working for its clients.

StarOcean Manning did not respond to the Resource Centre's request for comment.