“Liberia has consistently led the way on MLC. It was the first flag state to ratify MLC 2006 and has been tireless in applying its training and implementation procedures. Liberia’s first MLC Annual Report confirms this. Prior to the MLC implementation date of 20 August 2013, a total of 2,238 ships were inspected and issued MLC certificates by the Liberian Administration and its Recognised Organisations,” said LISCR Ceo Scott Bergeron.
The report further said that for the reporting period of 20 August 2013 to 31 December 2013 an additional 613 Liberian-flag ships have undergone MLC inspection, 54% by Liberia’s own MLC inspectors and the remainder by classification societies authorised as Recognised Organisations. Moreover, a total of 85% of these inspections resulted in no deficiencies being found.
Meanwhile, the majority of deficiencies noted in connection with the remaining 15% were directly related to issues of the sort one might expect following the implementation of new regulations, and were quickly resolved by greater familiarity with MLC on the part of onboard and shore staff.
Liberia has established an effective system for the inspection and certification of maritime labour conditions, having trained a global network of more than 200 inspectors to help Liberia ensure that the working and living conditions for seafarers on ships that fly its flag meet, and continue to meet, the standards in the convention. When standards are not met, immediate corrective action is required. Cases such as non-payment of crew or invalid certificates have resulted in flag state detention in port until rectified.
“Liberia has a proud record of protecting the welfare of the crews who sail on board its ships, with resulting clear benefits for not only those crews but also for the shipowners who employ them,” said Bergeron. Liberia will not relax its stance on MLC compliance. Furthermore, the Liberian Administration is concerned that port state control inspectors may not be consistent in their implementation of the ILO guidelines on MLC, thereby resulting in ships being unduly delayed or detained in port. Therefore, its aim is to reduce MLC detentions in port to zero.”
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited. Add Seatrade Maritime News to your Google News feed.
