Shipping Regulations and Guidance

August/September 2012

Maritime Labour
Convention (MLC)
what is the mlc?
The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) of 2006 is a product of the International Labour
Organization (ILO), which aims to provide a consolidated legal framework governing the rights
of seafarers, updating and supplanting previous applicable international conventions.
The Convention was ratified with the submission from the Philippines being lodged with the
International Labour Organization on 20th August 2012, meeting the criteria of 30 states
representing at least 33% of the worlds tonnage ratifying the Convention.

The Maritime Labour Convention will therefore come into force 12 months later, in August 2013,
and apply to all Member States.
Christian Ott
Vice President Claims the purpose
Assuranceforeningen
The purpose of the Convention is clearly spelled out by the ILO, the Convention aims to
SKULD (Gjensidig)
achieve both decent work for seafarers and secure economic interests in fair competition for
www.skuld.com
quality shipowners.
Indeed the ILO calls it the fourth pillar of the international regime for quality shipping, focussing
on seafarer working conditions and complementing the Conventions of the International
Maritime Organization (IMO).
It is heralded as a major development in respect of seafarers rights.

brief overview of the mlc

The Convention is a sizeable document, consisting of 16 Articles as well as a Code. This
Code comprises five titles which set out minimum standards for seafarers rights and working
conditions:
Title 1: Minimum requirements for seafarers to work on a ship
Title 2: Conditions of employment
Title 3: Accommodation, recreational facilities, food and catering
Title 4: Health protection, medical care, welfare and social security protection
Title 5: Compliance and enforcement.
Each title comprises two Parts, (A) and (B), with Part A regulations being compulsory and
PartB consisting of guidelines.

key highlights of the mlc code

Title 1: Minimum requirements for seafarers to work on a ship
The minimum working age is 16 years, but for night work and work in hazardous areas it is 18;
A
 ll seafarers are to be medically fit for their duties at sea and have a valid medical certificate
attesting the same;
Seafarers are to be properly trained and qualified for their duties;
S
 eafarers are to have access to an efficient and well-regulated recruitment and placement
system, which includes the protection and promotion of seafarers rights.

Title 2: Conditions of employment

Clear and comprehensive contracts are to be used;
P
 ayment of wages is to be regular and with no more then monthly intervals
between payments;
T
 he limits on hours of work are no more than 14 hours
of work in a 24 hour period and 72 hours in
any seven day period;

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 Shipping Regulations and Guidance
August/September 2012

S
 eafarers are to be repatriated at no cost to themselves While this may not be controversial for illness, injury or death
and financial security is to be provided that will protect this arising from work on board the vessel - matters typically
right; covered under P&I insurance - more challenging may be the
issue of security for the costs of repatriation of abandoned
S
 hips shall be sufficiently manned to ensure a safe,
crew.
efficient and secure operation of the ship.
The abandonment of the crew by a shipowner in financial
Title 4: Health protection, medical care, welfare difficulty is a matter that has always caused great concern.
and social security protection In these difficult economic times, it is likely to continue to be
M
 edical cover and access to medical care is to be available a challenge facing seafarers. Given that this circumstance
at no cost to the seafarer and provided to standards typically arises from the bankruptcy of the shipowner,
comparable ashore; it is something that has to be addressed further, as the
consequences of bankruptcy are not always a straightforward
S
 hipowners must ensure that seafarers are protected
insurance matter.
against the financial consequences of sickness, injury or
death occurring in connection with their employment; This is one of a number of reasons why it will be important
O
 ccupational health and safety is to be promoted on to closely follow the actual implementation of the MLC by
board, with particular provision for the protection of young Members.
seafarers.
possible uncertainties
compensation for injury Many of the terms used in the Convention are arguably vague,
or death making it difficult to assess how to set a standard regulation.
For example, words like adequate, reasonable, suitable
Under the Convention, shipowners will be liable for costs in
and appropriate are capable of producing a wide range of
relation to illness, injury or death of crewmembers occurring
interpretations.
during their duties on board. The provisions are quite wide in
application. Equally, it will remain to be seen exactly how a particular Flag
State incorporates the Conventions regulations into national
The exceptions - if enacted by Members in national laws -
law. There is a real possibility of not insignificant differences
would be limited to situations where (a) injury occurred
arising between different interpretations and becoming
otherwise than in service of the ship, (b) injury or sickness
enacted in national legislation/regulation of Member States.
was due to wilful misconduct by the seafarer concerned, or (c)
sickness was intentionally concealed when the seafarer was
taken on by the shipowner.
recommendation
Shipowners, technical managers and crewing agencies will
will shipowners need need to ensure that they ready to meet the new standards that
ships designed to meet will be demanded of them.
the standards of the
convention?
All new ships flagged in a Member State that are constructed
after the Convention comes into force must be built to meet
the requirements of the Convention. Attention must be paid in Sources:
particular to accommodation areas, where more space may yy International Labour Organization
need to be set aside for the crew.
yy International Maritime Organization
Ships built before the Convention comes into force are
required to comply with existing requirements of the Flag yy J onathan Hare, Senior Vice President,
State. Assuranceforeningen Skuld (Gjensidig)
yy Research Credit:
impact on insurance Tara Lee, Intern, Skuld Hong Kong Office
An important question will be whether a standard P&I
Certificate of Entry (COE) will be sufficient for the purpose of
establishing that the required financial security is in place, to
meet MLC standards. While some parties to the negotiations
of the MLC considered such COEs sufficient, the MLC does
not define what is suitable financial security, and it will be up
to individual States to decide what may be required.

STOP PRESS:
With the submission from the Philippines being lodged
with the International Labour Organization on the 20th
August 2012, this means that the Maritime Labour
Convention has now been signed by 30 member states
and can come into force in 12 months time.

http://tinyurl.com/92oceeu

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