Abandonment of Seafarers and Shipowners’ Liability
April 9, 2014 by 1 Comment
The world’s leading maritime nations and representatives of ship owners and seafarers, are to address the issues of abandonment of seafarers and the rapid settlement of claims for compensation in the case of a seafarer’s death or long-term disability at the first meeting of a Special Tripartite Committee established under the ILO’s Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006).
Life at Sea Sailing with the MLC
February 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment
We had arrived in China at just about the same time as Typhoon Utor. Which was a bit of a problem, since our cameraman Damien Riunaud and I had travelled to Shenzhen to board the Singapore-bound APL Boston container ship and produce video footage documenting life at sea. The trip was meant to coincide with the coming into force of the ILO’s Maritime Labour Convention (MLC, 2006), also known as the Seafarers’ Bill of Rights.
Is MLC Having Any Effect?
January 8, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The following article was initially published in the Isle of Man Maritime Blog by Dick Welsh Director of Isle of Man Ship Registry. Back in August, the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) came into force, adding seafarers’ rights to existing IMO instruments covering safety, pollution prevention, and crew qualifications. The 30 countries that had already ratified the Convention could now carry out port state control inspections of ships visiting their ports, thereby raising the bar internationally and improving the situation for crew on board ships. But four months into the maritime industry’s newest international regime, have standards for seafarers really improved?
Problems and Best Practices for STCW Rest Periods
October 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The following article was initially published in SAFETY4SEA by Apostolos Belokas Managing Editor of SAFETY4SEA. In an effort to enhance fatigue management IMO has amended the “fitness for duty – hours of rest” requirements to provide watch keepers on-board ships with increased rest periods on the latest STCW Amendments in line with the ILO MLC. Despite the fact that over the last few years STCW latest amendments are in place and ILO MLC is being implemented as of 20 August 2013 a number of problems are being experienced.
Eight Ships Detained for MLC Related Deficiencies in Paris MoU During First Month of MLC Implementation
October 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment
On 20 August 2013 the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC, 2006) entered into force and became a relevant instrument for the Paris MoU. During the first month 8 ships were detained for MLC-related deficiencies in areas under the jurisdiction of Paris MoU. This means that 12% of the total number of detentions (68) in the Paris MoU area in this period was MLC, 2006 related.
Preventing Seafaring Dreams from Turning Into Nightmares
August 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Following the official entry into force date of the MLC a few days ago ILO published a very interesting article about the expectations to improve the lives of seafarers. Being a seafarer was a childhood dream for Alex de La Cruz. He was raised in the southern part of the Philippines, where most of his neighbours and relatives were working as seafarers.
MLC 2006, a Ship Without Rudder and Compass? Time Will Tell…
August 20, 2013 by 1 Comment
Today the Maritime Labour Convention, MLC 2006, officially enters into force. The MLC was established during 2006 as the Fourth pillar of the international maritime law, the other three pillars are the SOLAS, STCW and MARPOL. A lot has been written about the subject and the general “atmosphere” that has been maintained in the industry is that the convention is for the good of the seafarers and a powerful tool to help them defend their rights. In May 1, the International Workers’ Day, the Officer of the Watch blog started a poll about what our readers believe regarding the MLC by simply asking if it will improve the seafarers’ life onboard.
ITF Report on Challenges Faced by Black Sea Seafarers
August 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment
For some time concern has been growing about the frequency of serious accidents and the repeated appeals from seafarers in difficulty on vessels trading in the Black Sea area. Black sea trade is characterized by older, smaller ships, often trading beyond their expected economic life in circumstances that can undermine safe and secure employment practices. Since the entry into force date (20 August 2013) of the ILO Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) is getting nearer, we would like to highlight a report that has been prepared from seafarers’ unions from the Black Sea area affiliated to the International Workers’ Federation (ITF).
IMO Regulatory Update for 2013
July 22, 2013 by 1 Comment
The present publication is an effort to gather and summarize all new IMO regulations that entered or are to enter into force during 2013. Active links to relevant documents/circulars/resolutions have been also included to make it easier for the reader to have a direct reference to the actual text of each regulation, or to documents analyzing the regulatory requirements.
Officer of the Watch 