Delivering on Seafarers' Rights - one year on

In the last two years, seafarers' rights have been stretched to breaking point beyond the systemic issues that make life at sea far more challenging. They have been stretched to the point where many are choosing other careers, and shipowners and operators are potentially heading towards a recruitment crisis.

In addition to dealing with the threat of poor labour conditions, the crew change crisis (triggered by the Covid pandemic) led to hundreds of thousands of seafarers being stuck at sea, sometimes many months beyond the end of their contracts, with no idea when they might be able to return home. An equivalent number were unable to get to sea to fulfil their contracts and earn a living. Even now, two and a half years after the pandemic first struck, 4.2% (July 2022) of seafarers are currently on board beyond the expiration of their contracts, with 0.3% on board beyond the 11 month maximum mandated by the Maritime Labour Convention.

The (thin) silver lining of the crew change crisis is that the world has begun to realise the extent to which global trade relies on these seafarers, and to understand that their working conditions and welfare must be protected and respected to ensure a sustainable shipping industry and resilient supply chain for the delivery of medicines, foods, fuels, raw materials, and goods we all take for granted each and every day.

Beyond being ethically the right thing to do, wellbeing on board a ship is critical to ensuring a safe work and living environment for seafarers.

In October 2021, the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI), the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), and the Rafto Foundation launched a Code of Conduct for charterers and a self-assessment questionnaire for shipowners, managers, and operators. These tools  cover the full spectrum of seafarers' rights and welfare, and provide a shared baseline for the industry and for individual companies to understand and take action across the scope of their obligations. Ultimately, we hope this work will increase accountability and enable demonstrable progress over time with the goal of securing lasting and positive change for seafarers.

The Code of Conduct, and the accompanying self-assessment questionnaire for shipowners and operators is, at this stage, not externally verified. For RightShip, however, which hosts the online Crew Welfare Self-Assessment Tool, it is just the beginning. For example, RightShip has begun carrying out trials where crew welfare is added as part of their on-board ship assessment, and they are keen to work with partners to discover the best ways to implement this permanently.

As we come up to the first anniversary of the launch of the Code of Conduct, it is time to reflect on its uptake and adoption, to what extent it has helped protect seafarers' rights, and what more needs to be done. The Delivering on Seafarers' Rights initiative - which produced the Code of Conduct - was conceived as a journey, with all stakeholders playing their part to ensure effective implementation and, ultimately, meaningful improvement in seafarers' lives.

SSI, IHRB and the Rafto Foundation are convening a roundtable in October 2022 in Singapore, hosted by Swire Shipping. It will bring together shipowners and operators, charterers, governments, and, most importantly seafarers and their representatives, to discuss the overall performance of the Code of Conduct so far, and the uptake and aggregate data from the Crew Welfare Self-Assessment Tool. The roundtable will also look at other initiatives and research, and will focus on three specific issues that impact seafarers: recruitment fees, abandonment, and security on board ships. In late October we will publish a report, which will chart progress thus far and identify next steps for meaningful work to continue.

Progress has been made, but there is still more to be done to reach parity on conditions at sea and on shore.

In the meantime, it is reassuring to note that the latest agreed updates to the ILO Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) will include elements already covered by the Code of Conduct. The MLC is an international treaty to protect seafarers' rights that came into force in 2006. It has now been ratified by more than 100 countries, representing over 90% of the world's fleet. One of its provisions is a Special Tripartite Committee (STC) comprising governments, shipowners, and seafarers' representatives (Seafarers' Group), which meets periodically to keep the convention constantly reviewed and updated. The latest meeting of the STC, held in Geneva in May 2022, agreed on a number of changes, including (among others):

• The right to mandatory social connectivity for crews - including internet access.
• Improved access to free drinking water, quality provisions, and balanced diets.
• Clarification on responsibilities for governments to provide information to seafarers on mandatory systems of protection that must be put in place by recruitment and placement agencies.
• Appropriately-sized personal protective equipment, in particular to suit the increasing number of women seafarers.
• Further State facilitation of the prompt repatriation of abandoned seafarers.

The STC also adopted several resolutions that will guide the future work of the committee, including further work on the eradication of sexual harassment at sea, the sustainability of the financial security provisions provided by P&I Clubs and insurers, and the ability of seafarers to enforce seafarers' employment agreements against shipowners.

However, there were improvements proposed by the Seafarers' Group that were not agreed upon - including proposed changes to the MLC's terms on repatriation. The Seafarers' Group demanded that shipowners' responsibility to repatriate seafarers at the end of their contracts be extended to the point at which seafarers land at their home location. This recommendation was rejected by shipowners.

Beyond being ethically the right thing to do, wellbeing on board a ship is critical to ensuring a safe work and living environment for seafarers. Many issues need to be addressed and it's difficult to prioritise. For many of us, staying connected to loved ones, and having access to nutritious and varied food that meets our dietary needs and preferences, are taken for granted, yet contribute to our overall wellbeing.  These are not always available to seafarers. Working at sea should not require compromises on enjoyment of labour and human rights. The industry needs to be more diligent about improving the way seafarers are respected and treated if it hopes to be an attractive career choice now and in the future.

For an industry like shipping that deals with so many complexities around jurisdiction and regulatory enforcement, some basic entitlements still need to be met. Better enforcement of human and labour rights regulations, such as the MLC, is needed. At the same time, transparency and communication around these rights can be a powerful tool to increase enforcement and wellbeing. Ensuring seafarers know their rights and, just as importantly, know where to turn if things go wrong, can go a long way to improving wellbeing of seafarers’ workplaces and homes.

Both SSI and IHRB look forward to ongoing engagement with all actors committed to strengthening the protection of, and respect for, human rights in the maritime industry.  We will continue to urge all actors to ensure that seafarers' rights are protected and respected.

Click here to read and download the Code of Conduct and self-assessment questionnaire.

A version of this article was originally published in "The Sea Magazine" Mission to Seafarers' quarterly magazine.