MLC amendments to be incorporated into UK law

The Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) has issued a document explaining how the UK proposes to implement amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) which were agreed in June 2022.

The MLC, sometimes referred to as the ‘Seafarers Bill of Rights’, lays out the basic entitlements for seafarers internationally. The MLC is a living document that is regularly amended with the participation of labour, government and industry representatives. Countries that have signed up to the MLC must create domestic legislation that puts any new requirements into practice.

Many of the 2022 amendments are already covered under UK law. They cover areas such as the requirement to report deaths and injuries onboard, and the repatriation of abandoned seafarers.
However, changes are required to UK law in four areas:

• Access to social connectivity (e.g. messaging apps, social media), which is now mandated under the amended MLC so seafarers can stay in touch with friends and family
• Evidence of the financial security of the ship (to ensure that costs can be met when changes are needed following surveys, inspections and audits)
• The requirement to provide a diet which is not only nutritious, but also ‘balanced’. In the UK this is interpreted as a mixed diet of carbohydrates, protein, fat and fibre incorporating all necessary vitamins and minerals
• A requirement for recruitment and placement services to provide seafarers with ‘adequate information regarding the system of protection to cover monetary loss’. If their employer does not meet its obligations (i.e. to explain how their repatriation will be funded)
  Vessels will not need to meet these requirements until they come into force in UK law at some point in in 2025.

Full information is available in Marine Information Note (MIN) 714, available on the UK government website. This document consists of interim guidance to industry ahead of a public consultation on the amendments.