IMO latest updates on seafarers’ rights and abandonment

IMO latest updates on seafarers’ rights and abandonment
The Editorial Team August 20, 2024 https://safety4sea.com/cm-imo-latest-updates-on-seafarers-rights-and-aba...

During its 111th session held in person from April 22 to 26, 2024, the IMO Legal Committee (LEG 111) covered various topics, including seafarer issues. Key discussions addressed the fair treatment of seafarers, and the establishment of a new Task Force to review the abandonment database.

Seafarer abandonment occurs when shipowners fail to meet their obligations regarding timely repatriation, payment of outstanding wages, and the provision of basic necessities like food, accommodation, and medical care. The IMO has seen a worrying increase in abandonment cases, with 142 new incidents reported in 2023, up from 109 in 2022, 95 in 2021, and 85 in 2020. Between 2017 and 2019, the annual number of incidents ranged from 40 to 55, while from 2011 to 2016, there were between 12 and 19 cases each year.

Guidelines on the fair treatment of seafarers

The Legal Committee finalized new guidelines to ensure seafarers are treated fairly if detained in foreign jurisdictions on suspicion of committing a crime. These guidelines are to be applied when seafarers are detained outside their home country for crimes allegedly committed during their employment on board a ship. They aim to protect seafarers’ rights to due process during investigation and detention by public authorities. The guidelines provide instructions for port States, flag States, coastal States, the seafarers’ home countries, shipowners, and seafarers themselves.

These finalized guidelines will be presented to the Joint ILO/IMO Tripartite Working Group (JTWG) for further refinement. The JTWG will then submit the guidelines to the Legal Committee and the ILO Governing Bodies for endorsement.

New task force to review abandonment database

With support from the International Ship Suppliers’ Association (ISSA), the ILO and IMO established a joint database on reported incidents of abandonment of seafarers which includes all cases reported after 1 January 2004. In late 2016, both industry stakeholders and the media raised concerns about unreported abandonment cases and outdated information in the database. Since then, the ILO, IMO, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) have been working continuously to address these issues, ensuring that the database is regularly updated.

In this context, the IMO LEG 111 established a new Task Force to review, update, or redevelop this database to enhance its accuracy and efficiency. The ILO/IMO database contains regularly updated information on vessels and seafarers reported as abandoned worldwide.

As explained, improving this system would boost data accuracy and monitoring capabilities, aiding in the swift resolution of abandonment cases. This upgrade will support the implementation of the Guidelines on handling seafarer abandonment cases, adopted at LEG 110.

The Task Force will report to the JTWG, which will conduct a final review and provide a comprehensive report to the ILO Governing Body and the IMO Legal Committee for endorsement.

Other major issues

In addition to addressing seafarer treatment, the Legal Committee advanced on several critical issues, including fraudulent ship registration and registries, autonomous shipping, the assessment of liability limits, and guidelines for accepting insurance companies and certificates.