IMO CONVENTIONS

4. MLC: An Introduction

UNO
IMO ILO
MARPOL
SOLAS

MLC
STCW

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 Course outline
1. Course Outline
2. Objectives of the course
3. Definitions
4. What is the Maritime Labour Convention
5. Purpose of the convention
6. Application
7. Implementing the convention
8. Content and requirements of the convention
9. Master’s responsibilities in enforcing the convention
10. Summary of the titles of the convention
11. Assessment

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 Objectives of the course
• After the completion of this course the trainee
will be able to:
 Be fully conversant with the convention
 Understand the purpose of the convention
 Know the content of the convention
 Get a grasp his/her rights stipulated in the convention
 Understand how he/she can comply with the
convention
 Understand his/her responsibilities in complying wit
the convention

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 Definitions
1. Ship
 The Convention applies to all ships, whether publicly or privately owned, ordinarily engaged in
commercial activities, other than ships:
 which navigate exclusively in inland waters or waters within, or closely adjacent to, sheltered waters or
areas where port regulations apply
 engaged in fishing or in similar pursuits
 ships of traditional build such as dhows and junks
 warships or naval auxiliaries.
2. Competent Authority:
 means the minister, government department or other authority with power to issue and enforce
regulations, orders or other instructions that have the force of law with respect to the subject
matter of the provision concerned
3. Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance (DMLC):
 means a declaration summarising the national laws or regulations implementing an agreed-upon
list of 14 areas of the maritime standard
 The Flag State of the vessel falling under the MLC 2006 will draw up a ship-specific Declaration of
Maritime Labour Compliance, Part I (DMLC I)
 The shipowner / operator shall develop and implement measures to ensure compliance with the
national requirements in the ship-specific Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance, Part II
(DMLC II).
 The declaration is attached to the Maritime Labour Certificate and sets out the shipowner’s or
operator’s plan for ensuring that the national requirements implementing the Convention will be
maintained on the ship between inspections
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 Definitions
3. Seafarer
 means any person who is employed or engaged or works in any
capacity on board a ship to which this Convention applies
4. Seafarer Recruitment and Placement Service
 means any person, company, institution, agency or other
organization, in the public or the private sector, which is
engaged in recruiting seafarers on behalf of shipowners or
placing seafarers with shipowners
5. Shipowner
 means the owner of the ship or another organization or person,
such as the manager, agent or bareboat charterer, who has
assumed the responsibility for the operation of the ship from
the owner and who, on assuming such responsibility, has
agreed to take over the duties and responsibilities imposed on
shipowners in accordance with this Convention, regardless of
whether any other organization or persons fulfill certain of the
duties or responsibilities on behalf of the shipowner. 5
 What is the Maritime Labour
Convention, 2006?
 Due to the absence of internationally valid minimum
standards for seafarers‘ working and living conditions
onboard ships, representatives for governments, ship
owners and seafarers jointly agreed on the adoption of
the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006
 Adopted by the ILO in 2006 and entered into force on
August 2013
 called the fourth pillar of the international maritime
regulatory regime
 help to eliminate substandard shipping
 an objective benchmark for decent working and living
conditions for seafarers
 the result of a tripartite negotiation by representatives of
government, employers and workers
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 Purpose
• Set out seafarers’ right to decent working and living
conditions globally and help to create conditions of fair
competition for shipowners.
• To set minimum standards to address the health, safety and
welfare of seafarers in areas such as:
 Conditions of employment
 Accommodations
 Recreational facilities
 Food and catering
 Health protection
 Medical care
 Welfare and social protection issues

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 Purpose
• These minimum standards are intended to address
issues such as:
 The causes of fatigue
 Occupational health and safety
 Recruitment
 Working and living conditions
 Crew retention and motivation

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 Application
• Mandatory for all ships engaged in commercial
activities (except fishing vessels, ships of traditional
build and warships or naval auxiliaries)
• Applies to ships of:
 500 gross tonnage or over, engaged in international
voyages; and
 500 gross tonnage or over, flying the flag of a Member and
operating from a port, or between ports, in another
country.
 Ships below 500grt, or ships operating on a domestic
trade still need to be inspected against the requirements
of the Convention ……but do not need to be certified
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 Implementation
• The individual implementation depends on the conversion of the MLC 2006
requirements into national law.
• Compliance with the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 will be verified onboard
either by the ship‘s Flag State or on behalf of Flag States by Recognised
Organisations, and will be certified by means of a Maritime Labour Certificate
issued to each vessel.
• Flexibility provided for in the MLC 2006 will, therefore, result in various
interpretations by Flag States.
• Ships of 500 GT or over are required to carry a Maritime Labour Certificate (MLC)
as well as a Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance (DMLC) following a
successful initial on-board inspection
• The Maritime Labour Certificate confirms that the working and living conditions
have been inspected and verified to meet national laws and regulations
implementing the MLC 2006.
• Ships below 500 GT are subject to an inspection at intervals not exceeding three
years, with no certificate to be issued.
• The DMLC II describes how the MLC 2006 and the requirements of the ship’s Flag
Administration are to be implemented on board. It may contain procedures,
statements or refer to existing procedures of the ship’s Safety Management System
(ISM Code).
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 Implementation
• The DMLC II must be reviewed for compliance
against the DMLC I.
• This must be done by the Competent
Authority of the vessel’s Flag Administration
or a Recognised Organisation (RO) authorised
by the Flag Administration such as ABS.
• Only after a successful review of the DMLC II
can the ship be inspected by a GL Maritime
Labour Inspector.

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 The Process of On-board Inspection
1. Step 1: Application for DMLC I with the Flag
State
2. Step 2: Preparation of DMLC II by the
shipowner
3. Step 3: Submission of DMLC I+II for review
 The result of a satisfactory review is the issuance
of a “Letter of Review" by the RO that will be
forwarded to the ship
4. Step 4: Apply for the on-board inspection

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 The Process of On-board Inspection
5. Step 5: On-board inspection
During the on-board inspection, the Maritime Labour
Inspector will verify compliance with the ship’s national
requirements for decent living and working conditions
by using various inspection methods
a. Collecting documented evidence
b. Visual tour of the ship
c. Conducting interviews with seafarers (in private)

6. Step 6: Issuance of Maritime Labour Certificate incl. DMLC

I + II
After a successful inspection has been conducted, the
Maritime Labour Inspector will sign and stamp the
DMLC and issue a Maritime Labour Certificate.
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 The Process of On-board Inspection
• Scope of the inspection
 Minimum age
 Medical certification
 Qualifications of seafarers
 Seafarers‟ employment agreements
 Use of any licensed or certified or regulated private recruitment and
placement service
 Hours of work or rest
 Manning levels for the ship
 Accommodation
 On board recreational facilities
 Food and catering
 Health and safety and accident protection
 On board medical care
 On board complaint procedures
 Payment of wages

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 MLC 2006 Requirements
• The Convention comprises three different but
related parts: Articles, Regulations and the
Code
• The Code, describing how the requirements
are to be implemented, consists of two parts:
 Part A: is mandatory.
 Part B: consist of guidelines and is not mandatory,
but can be helpful and sometimes essential for a
proper understanding of the regulations and the
mandatory standards in Part A.
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 MLC 2006 Requirements
• The Regulations and the Code are structured into 5
Titles.
1. Minimum Requirements for Seafarers to Work on a Ship
 addresses the minimum requirements for seafarers to work
on a ship:
 Minimum Age
 Medical Certificates
 Training and qualifications
 Recruitment and placement
 purpose of the 4 regulations of this title is to ensure that
nobody under the prescribed minimum age works on-board
a ship
 In addition, seafarers must be medically fit and well trained
and qualified for the duties they are assigned to.
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 MLC 2006 Requirements
2. Conditions of Employment
 ensure that all seafarers shall have fair employment agreements that provide
them with adequate leave and entitlements to be repatriated
 requires that their wages are paid monthly and that seafarers shall have regulated
hours of work or hours of rest.
 Seafarers‟ employment agreements
 Wages
 Hours of work and hours of rest
 Entitlement to leave
 Repatriation
 Seafarer compensation for the ship’s loss or foundering
 Manning levels
 Career and skill development and opportunities for seafarers‟
employment
A number of issues in this Title are very critical inspection items!

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 MLC 2006 Requirements
3. Accommodation, Recreational Facilities, Food and
Catering
 Each seafarer has the right to decent and safe
accommodation and recreational facilities.
 Requirements regarding free access to good food and
drinking water on-board are set out here as well.
i. Accommodation, recreational facilities
 New Ship vs. Existing Ship requirements(construction and equipment)
 Existing ships -status of existing ILO maritime conventions when the MLC
2006 comes into force. (C92, C133)
 Title 3 consolidates and modernises existing ILO convention requirements
-(noise and vibration)
 Flexibility through national „substantial equivalences‟, exemptions,
alternative arrangements
 Owner’s inspections
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 MLC 2006 Requirements
III. Food and catering
quantity, quality, cultural differences,
qualifications of cooks preparing food
 The Competent Authority shall pay particular
attention to:
 The size of rooms and other accommodation spaces
 Heating and ventilation
 Noise and vibration and other ambient factors
a. Exposure to noise –B4.3.2
b. Exposure to vibration –B4.3.3
 Sanitary facilities
 Lighting
 Hospital accommodation

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 MLC 2006 Requirements
3. Health Protection, Medical Care, Welfare and Social Security
Protection
 The purpose of these regulations are to protect seafarers’ health and to
ensure that their working and living environment is safe and hygienic.
 Medical care on board ship and ashore
 medical and essential dental, medicines, equipment, on board facilities,
 guidelines, training and communications, access to shore based medical facilities
 Ship owners‟ liability
 compensation for sickness, injury, death in service; medical care costs, payment of wages
during sickness/injury
 Health and safety protection and accident prevention
 procedures, policies, safety meetings, safety equipment and training, exposure to noise and
vibration etc.
 Access to shore-based welfare facilities
 Social security(minimum of 3 of the 9 items -A4.5 (2))

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 MLC 2006 Requirements
4. Compliance and Enforcement
 This title addresses the responsibilities of ratifying Member States
regarding implementation and ensuring compliance and enforcement
with MLC 2006 requirements.
 The implementation of an on-board complaint procedure, the carriage of
a Maritime Labour certificate for vessels of 500 GT and over, and the
rectification of deficiencies raised during inspections are just some of the
issues determined within this title.
 Flag state responsibilities
 To define the national Flag State requirements
 The Inspection and Certification of vessels against the new Convention and national
requirements
 Authorisation of recognised organisations
 For having procedures for handling seafarers‟ complaints

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 MLC 2006 Requirements
 Port state responsibilities
 The inspection of its own national flagged vessels in
port
 To enforce the new Convention standards on foreign
flagged ships under the ‘no more favourable
treatment’ requirement of the Convention
 For having procedures for handling seafarers’
complaints made on shore
 Labour supplying responsibilities

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 Master’s role in ensuring compliance
with MLC 2006 requirements?
• The master, or a person authorised by the master, shall maintain
and sign the records of seafarers’ daily hours of work or daily hours
of rest.
• Each seafarer concerned shall endorse his personal copy.
• It is the master’s obligation to carry out on-board the ship frequent
inspections to ensure that accommodation areas and recreational
facilities are safe and in a hygienic condition.
• regular inspections of the galley, storerooms, provisions and
equipment used for the handling and preparation of food shall be
carried out by or under the authority of the master.
• The results of these inspections, either carried out by the master or
under his authority, shall be recorded and be available for review,
which should include evidence for follow-up and rectifications if
deficiencies are found.
• masters should be familiar with the requirements of the
• MLC 2006 and the responsibilities with regard to its
implementation. 23
 Master’s role in ensuring compliance
with MLC 2006 requirements?
• The MLC 2006 requires that, before a
Certificate can be issued or endorsed or prior
to allowing a ship to sail, deficiencies raised
during an inspection must either be rectified
immediately or a rectification action plan
must be provided and agreed on by the
inspector.

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 END OF COURSE

• THANKYOU FOR YOUR

ATTENTION!!!

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