Agreement reached on MLC amendments

The agreement was reached by the International Shipping Federation (ISF) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) at the first meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee (STC), established under the MLC, 2006.

The amendments ensure the provision of financial security systems to assist seafarers in the event of their abandonment and for compensation for seafarers’ contractual claims for death and personal injury.

Arthur Bowring, spokesperson for ISF, said: “The MLC, 2006 is intended to bring social justice and fair competition to the Shipping Industry and the lack of a specific reference to abandonment in the mandatory instruments of ILO and IMO was an omission that needed comprehensive action. The first Special Tripartite Committee considered amendments developed over ten years by the Joint ILO and IMO working group and we believe that the outcome of our work this week is a significant achievement.”

“Shipowners have a responsibility for seafarers under their contractual employment arrangements, and the problems created when the seafarers are abandoned needed specific legislative measures. The new amendments not only provide that safeguard but also recognise the role to be played by flag states and labour supply states,” he added.

Only a small proportion of the world’s seafarers experience abandonment but the ICS says it does not make the occurrence any less serious.

The STC meeting also clarified Standard A4.2 to ensure that contractual claims for death and personal injury are now appropriately covered.