MLC 2025 Uncovered: Crew Rights and Shipboard Safety

As 2025 closes, the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006) remains the single most important international instrument protecting seafarers’ rights and wellbeing. Often called the "Seafarer’s Bill of Rights," the MLC unifies dozens of earlier conventions into a consistent framework that guarantees minimum employment conditions, safe accommodation, adequate food and medical care, and clear repatriation rules for millions of maritime workers worldwide.

At its heart the MLC requires each ratifying state to ensure ships flying its flag meet baseline standards. For shipowners this means documented compliance with rules governing employment agreements, hours of work and rest, accommodation standards, health protection, and financial security. Port State Control inspections verify that seafarers on visiting ships enjoy these protections, creating a practical enforcement mechanism that operates across jurisdictions.

Key obligations include properly written employment contracts, verified medical fitness, and robust systems for recording hours of work and rest to prevent fatigue. The convention sets minimum standards rather than prescriptive processes: companies must demonstrate how they meet outcomes such as safe working conditions and decent living quarters, allowing flexibility across ship types and trades while preserving core protections.

Recent amendments and guidance through 2024–2025 have sharpened several practical elements. Notably, clearer rules on internet access and mental health-friendly measures recognise the importance of crew wellbeing in prolonged voyages. Financial security provisions have been refined to reduce disputes over who must hold guarantees for repatriation and death benefits. Port State and flag State procedures also emphasise the need for accurate system inventories and evidence of regular training and drills.

Medical care and repatriation rights are among the strongest protections the MLC guarantees. Ships must carry appropriate medical supplies and provide access to telemedicine or shore-based advice when necessary. Where a seafarer becomes ill or unfit for duty, repatriation at no cost and timely shore-side medical access are mandatory. Recent clarifications require faster disembarkation in urgent cases and stronger coordination between states to prevent abandonment.

Accommodation, nutrition and on-board services receive specific attention: minimum cabin sizes, ventilation and noise standards, and enhanced food quality rules support physical health and morale. The 2024 updates reinforce reasonable internet access and recreational facilities so seafarers can maintain family contact and mental wellbeing while away.

The MLC also enforces training, certification and competency requirements, tying crew qualifications to safe operations. Ship operators must keep clear inventories of hardware and software that affect safety and ensure that personnel receive appropriate training in emergency and routine procedures. Safety committees and seafarer representation on vessels with sufficient crew numbers provide a direct channel for raising concerns.

For shipowners, compliance is an ongoing management task: document inventories, maintain training records, run regular drills, and keep up-to-date medical and financial security arrangements. Auditors commonly highlight incomplete inventories, weak training documentation, or insufficient rest-hour monitoring as frequent findings — all fixable with systematic record-keeping and active management engagement.

In practical terms, MLC compliance improves safety, reduces the risk of abandonment and strengthens crew retention. For seafarers, it guarantees legal protections that extend beyond national borders; for operators, it provides a clear framework that, when followed, reduces reputational and operational risk. As the convention evolves, companies that prioritise transparent, humane working conditions will be best positioned for recruitment, regulatory approval and long-term operational resilience.