Is the Maritime Labour Convention working?

Ten years after its implementation, has the Maritime Labour Convention made a positive impact for seafarers? Rob Coston reports on an anniversary event

On 22 January, Nautilus director of legal services Charles Boyle represented Nautilus at a London seminar organised by the Nautical Institute to mark the tenth anniversary of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) coming into force.

At the seminar - titled Maritime Labour Convention 10 Years On – Is It Working for the Seafarer? - he spoke alongside representatives of industry and maritime charities and laid out some of the key successes, challenges and potential improvements.

Successes

In the success column stands the fact that the MLC has now been ratified by 105 ILO Member States, covering over 96% of the world’s gross tonnage.

'Another achievement is the unique implementation and enforcement mechanisms,' Mr Boyle said. 'Implementation can take place by way of laws, regulations, or other measures, including collective bargaining agreements which provide a way for seafarers and shipowners organisations to engage positively… As for enforcement, flag states inspect ships and the owner's implementation policies and there are port state control inspections with extensive powers. For repeated or serious non-compliances the flag state can withdraw certification and, with the port state, has the power to detain ships and issue improvement notices. Also, there is no escape for ships registered with non-ratifying states when they visit states where the Convention applies.

'In my view, the structure of the MLC has contributed very much to protecting seafarers thanks to its extensive range of updated rights, wide application, and unique compliance and enforcement regime.'

Challenges

On the other hand, Mr Boyle said, the Covid-19 pandemic was a stress test for the MLC. It led to much non-compliance, especially regarding issues such as repatriation, with governments pleading force majeure.

'Having said that, the Convention was not drafted with such an event in mind, and efforts are continuing to address many of these issues,' he added.

Other potential failures include continual seafarer abandonment, which calls into question the MLC's financial security system, and patchy implementation and enforcement by some signatories. These issues were exposed in recent research by Seafarers' Rights International, which estimates that the MLC is currently achieving a success rate of around 65.

Improvements

The MLC has a simplified and rapid amendment procedure. Mr Boyle concluded by laying out some of the proposed amendments up for discussion in April 2025.