A beacon of hope for seafarers

A beacon of hope for seafarers
Published Date: 3/29/2009 - (NIE)

G Saravanan

Chennai, March 28: THE Maritime Labour Convention-2006, which has been designed to become a global legal instrument once it comes into force by 2011, will be the ‘Fourth Pillar’ of the international regulatory regime for quality shipping, Partha Basu, a maritime expert has said. He was addressing the members of the marine fraternity during a seminar organised in connection with the National Maritime Day.

By consolidating the key Conventions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) such as the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, (SOLAS), the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch-keeping, 1978, (STCW) and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 73/78 (MARPOL), the proposed MLC- 2006 is expected to become a comprehensive set of global standards based on the already existing 68 maritime labour instruments (Conventions and Recommendations), adopted by the ILO since 1920.

According to Basu, the Convention aims to achieve worldwide protection for all seafarers. It is estimated that there are over 1.2 million people working in this sector across the world. Until now, it was clear that these people, particularly those who worked on board ships (but are not directly involved in navigating or operating the ship such as many personnel that work on passenger ships) would be considered seafarers. The new Convention clearly defines a seafarer as any person who is employed or engaged or works in any capacity on board a ship that is covered by the Convention. The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, aims to establish a continuous ‘compliance awareness’ at every stage, from the national systems of protection up to the international system.

It covers the minimum requirements for seafarers to work on a ship, conditions of employment, hours of work and rest, wages, leave, repatriation, accommodation, recreational facilities, food and catering, occupational safety and health protection, medical care, welfare and social security protection. Though there are several such conventions that are available for seafarers, but most of them are either outdated or very difficult to implement. In such circumstances, seafarers across the globe feel that the new MLC- 2006 would be a ‘one stop shop’ for the demands in the maritime industry. The Convention also establishes a strong compliance and enforcement mechanism based on flag State inspection and certification of seafarers’ working and living conditions.

To become a law acceptable to all countries, the MLC-2006, requires ratification by at least 30 ILO member states with a total share in the world gross tonnage of ships of at least 33 per cent. To date, the Convention has been ratified by Liberia, the Republic of Marshall Islands and The Bahamas, and by Panama and Norway. European Union countries are in the process to ratify the convention by 2010.