COLUMBIA Shipmanagement Limited THE MLC FROM A SHIPMANAGER’S POINT OF VIEW Captain Dirk Fry Managing Director
May 2013
MLC 2006, RATIFICATIONS TO DATE Denmark
Norway
Finland
Poland Canada
Luxembourg
Russian Federation
Latvia
Sweden
Netherlands Serbia
Switzerland Bahamas Antigua and Barbuda
Bulgaria
Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia
Lebanon Instrument of ratification received
Spain
Philippines
France
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Malta Marshall Islands
Morocco Panama Liberia
Tuvalu
Cyprus Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Togo
Benin Greece
Kiribati
Gabon Instrument of ratification received SIngapore
Palau
Australia
39 countries have ratified MLC 2006
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Fiji Instrument of ratification received
COUNTRIES WHICH HAVE NOT YET RATIFIED MLC AFGHANISTAN ALBANIA ALGERIA ANGOLA ARGENTINA ARMENIA AUSTRIA AZERBAIJAN BAHRAIN BANGLADESH BARBADOS BELARUS BELGIUM BELIZE BOLIVIA BOTSWANA BRAZIL BRUNEI DAR. BURKINA FASO BURUNDI
CAMBODIA CAMEROON CAPE VERDE C. AFRICAN REP. CHAD CHILE CHINA COLOMBIA COMOROS CONGO COSTA RICA CUBA CZECH REP. COTE D’IVOIRE D.R.OF CONGO DJIBOUTI DOMINICA DOMINICAN REP.. ECUADOR EGYPT
EL SALVADOR EQUAT. GUINEA ERITREA ESTONIA ETHIOPIA FIJI CAMBIA GEORGIA GERMANY CHANA GRENADA GUATEMALA GUINEA GUINEA-BISSAU GUYANA HAITI HONDURAS HUNGARY ICELAND INDIA
INDONESIA IRAN IRAQ IRELAND ISRAEL ITALY JAMAICA JAPAN JORDAN KAZAKHSTAN KENYA KOREA KUWAIT KYRGYZSTAN LAO LESOTHO LIBYA LITHUANIA MADAGASCAR MALAWI
COUNTRIES WHICH HAVE NOT YET RATIFIED MLC MALAYSIA MALDIVES MALI MAURITANIA MAURITIUS MEXICO MOLDOVA MONGOLIA MONTENEGRO MOZAMBIQUE MYANMAR NAMIBIA NEPAL NEW ZEALAND NICARAGUA NIGER NIGERIA OMAN PAKISTAN PAPUA
PARAGUAY PERU PORTUGAL QATAR ROMANIA RWANDA SAINT LUCIA SAMOA SAN MARINO SAO TOME SAUDI ARABIA SENEGAL SEYCHELLES SIERRA LEONE SLOVAKIA SLOVENIA SOLOMON ISL. SOMALIA SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH SUDAN
SRI LANKA SUDAN SURINAME SWAZILAND SYRIAN ARAB TAJIKISTAN TANZANIA THAILAND R.MACEDONIA TIMOR-LESTE TRINIDAD/TOBAGO TUNISIA TURKEY TURKMENISTAN UGANDA UKRAINE UNITED ARAB EM. UNITED KINGDOM UNITED STATES URUGUAY
UZBEKISTAN VANUATU VENEZUELA VIET NAM YEMEN ZAMBIA ZIMBABWE *147 countries have not yet ratified the MLC 2006
SHIPMANAGER‘S POINT OF VIEW
•CHALLENGING BUT NECESSARY!
•RESERVATIONS AS TO HOW THE CONVENTION IS TO BE ENFORCED IN PRACTICE BY PSC
•CONSOLIDATES AND REPLACES MORE THAN 60 MARITIME LABOUR INSTRUMENTS
• INCREASE OF OBLIGATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES TOWARDS OUR SEAFARERS TO ENSURE THAT OUR VESSELS FULLY COMPLY WITH THE MLC 2006 FLAG STATE REQUIREMENTS 5
Summary of MLC certification of CSM vessels FLAG
NO. OF CSM VESSELS CERTIFIED
MARSHALL ISLANDS CYPRUS
47 Vessels certified
LIBERIA
5 Vessels certified
ANTIGUA BARBUDA PANAMA
1 Vessel certified
SINGAPORE
1 Vessel to be certified
BAHAMAS
1 Vessel to be certified
NORWAY
5 Vessels to be certified
GIBRALTAR
1 Vessel to be certified
UNITED KINGDOM MALTA
1 Vessel to be certified
6 Vessels certified
8 Vessels certified
2 Vessels to be certified 6
Summary of MLC certification of CSM vessels
STATUS - CSM CY : 67 Vessels certified 4 Inspections arranged 13 Vessels to be certified
15%
5%
Vessels certified Inspections arranged Vessels to be certified
80%
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BE PREPARED BY 20/08/2013
Assemble different departments (i.e. Crewing, Insurance, Tech) for smooth implementation
Decide on one single MLC manual or revise existing procedures/policies (to avoid overloading vessels with paperwork)
Ensure MLC awareness of both Office and Crew (via training, guidelines)
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CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE Apply for DMLC Part I from the Flag State.
Review Flag State requirements as outlined in the DMLC Part I, conduct gap analysis, amend Management System Documentation and requirements as appropriate, prepare DMLC Part I and submit the document to the Flag State or Recognized Organization. Flag State or Recognized Organization will issue “Letter of Review” upon successful completion of review. Forward DMLC Part I & II and “Letter of Review” to the vessel. Master shall file all documents with the MF.01 “Certificates File” and confirm receipt. QAD will arrange for initial external MLC inspection by the FA or RO upon confirmation of receipt. Conduct initial MLC inspection and issue Statement of Compliance or MLC certificate. The MLC certificate is valid for five years subject to an intermediate inspection (between the second and third anniversary date). 9
CAUTION!!! Definition of SHIPOWNER is identical to ISM so entity on DOC can be interpreted so as to be considered to be the the Shipowner under MLC 2006.
Definition of SEAFARER i.e. HOTEL type workers on board pax vessels are seafarers and are clearly covered by the rights of the MLC. Diff Flag interp. i.e. harbour pilots, port workers, guest entertainers, ship inspectors, superintendents, repair technicians all may NOT be determined to be seafarers.
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NEED TO AMEND CLAUSES OF AGREEMENTS Necessary to amend Ship Management and Crew Management Agreements so as to address the challenges of MLC (i.e. financial security). Additionally, necessary to adjust charterparty clauses so as to address the challenges of the MLC (i.e. significant risks of delay, fines or detention for non-compliance). Important to determine, the soonest possible, who shall be named on the Employment Agreement, as legal responsibilities cannot be delegated to another party.
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CONCERNS OF MLC IMPLEMENTATION The concern that seafarers might not be fully aware of the MLC or how it might affect them had prompted the European Union to offer training courses to its members. One of its officials uses the word “empowerment”, while acknowledging that with rights come responsibilities, particularly for masters and senior officers tasked with helping to ensure their ships are compliant.
Meanwhile, even at this late stage uncertainty persists over some of the finer details of the MLC. Flag-states are being asked, for example, to clarify their definition of a seafarer and what they will accept as proof of the financial security required to cover an employer’s liabilities. For example the UK’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) provides three other examples of categories of workers who might or might not be seafarers under the MLC: scientists on research vessels “and so not employed by the ship owner”; guest entertainers “who go from ship to ship” and “security staff employed to deter acts of piracy”.
Another MLC conundrum has been how to treat workers on self-propelled mobile offshore drilling units who could, in theory, be classed as seafarers when their rig is repositioning on a regular basis but as non-seafarers when it is attached to the seabed or subsea structure and classed as an “installation” and so subject to a different health and safety regime. 12
Contact Details COLUMBIA Shipmanagement Ltd. Columbia House 21 Spyrou Kyprianou Avenue Yermasoyia 4042, Limassol Cyprus Tel.: +357 25 843100 Fax.: +357 25 320325 E-mail:
[email protected] www.columbiashipmanagement.com
Mr. Dirk Fry Managing Director Direct Tel.:+357 25 843104 / 110 E-mail:
[email protected] 13
Many thanks for your kind attention
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