Seafarers boarding a ship in Melbourne port in 2022

Maritime Labour Convention, 2006

"We are the one" by Jaemin Heo in Melbourne port in 2022 © ITF Seafarers’ Trust

The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended, (MLC, 2006), was adopted by the 94th (Maritime) Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) on 23 February 2006.

This Convention revises and consolidates 37 existing Conventions and the related Recommendations. The MLC, 2006, uses a new format with some updating, where necessary, to reflect modern conditions and language. In this manner, it sets out, in a single instrument, the right of the world’s 1.5 million seafarers to decent conditions of work in almost every aspect of their working and living conditions, including minimum age, employment agreements, hours of work and rest, payment of wages, paid annual leave, repatriation, on board medical care, the use of recruitment and placement services, accommodation, food and catering, health and safety protection and accident prevention, and complaint procedures for seafarers.

108

ILO Member States have ratified the Convention

96.6 %

of the world gross shipping tonnage represented by all ratifications

News and articles

Guinea-Bissau ratifies the Maritime Labour Convention
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Guinea-Bissau ratifies the Maritime Labour Convention

New important set of amendments to the MLC, 2006 will enter into force on 23 December 2024
Natural Beauty@Sea by Asif Ahmed Pasha, 2023

New important set of amendments to the MLC, 2006 will enter into force on 23 December 2024

Ongoing and upcoming events

Fifth Meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee established under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended (MLC, 2006)

Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended (MLC, 2006)

Fifth Meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee established under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended (MLC, 2006)

A Convention under continuous review

The MLC, 2006 entered into force on 20 August 2013. Its Code was amended in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2022.

Text of the MLC, 2006 and amendments

Text of the MLC, 2006 and amendments

Special Tripartite Committee

In June 2013, the ILO Governing Body established the Special Tripartite Committee (STC), which is mandated under Article XIII of the MLC, 2006, to keep the working of the Convention under continuous review.

Under the Convention, the Committee has the power to consider and propose to the International Labour Conference amendments to the Code of the Convention, and also plays an important consultative role under Article VII for countries that do not have national shipowners’ or seafarers’ organisations to consult when implementing the MLC, 2006.

Implementation, reporting and supervision

Maritime databases

MLC database
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MLC database

Database on reported incidents of abandonment of seafarers
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Database on reported incidents of abandonment of seafarers

Seafarers' Identity Documents

The amended version of the Seafarers' Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003 (No. 185) entered into force on 8 June 2017, incorporating the latest standards adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The issuance of the new Seafarers' Identity Documents (SID), with technology similar to the one currently used in electronic passports, contributes to facilitating access to shore leave, transfer and transit for seafarers while enhancing security in ports and borders through the use of a secure and internationally recognised document.

The Convention makes a vital contribution to the security of maritime transport in order to combat terrorist threats, and particularly to respond to the needs of seafarers in transit or transfer to join a ship or to be repatriated. It also facilitates access to shore facilities and shore leave, which are essential for the health and  general welfare of seafarers, who often remain on board their ship for several months at a time.

Joint IMO/ILO activities

Joint IMO/ILO activities