3. The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), 2006
The MLC, 2006, addresses “training and qualification” in its regulations with the
purpose of ensuring that “seafarers are trained or qualified to carry out their duties
on board ship” and that:
1. Seafarers shall not work on a ship unless they are trained or certified as
competent or otherwise qualified to perform their duties.
2. Seafarers shall not be permitted to work on a ship unless they have successfully
completed training for personal safety on board ship.
3. Training and certification in accordance with the mandatory instruments adopted
by the International Maritime Organization shall be considered as meeting the
requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Regulation.
The relevant primary “mandatory instrument” indicated in paragraph 3 may be
deemed to be the STCW Convention 1978, as amended. The Maritime Labour
Convention, 2006, which is now recognized as the seafarers’ “bill of rights” works
in tandem with the STCW and helps level the operational playing field for
shipowners.
4. Miscellaneous instruments of different legal standing and for different contexts of
ship operation
A number of instruments continue to relate to the education and training of
seafarers, including:
• The principles of safe manning and other such resolutions from the IMO;
• The International Telecommunications Union Radio Regulations relating to the
operation of equipment in the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System
(GMDSS);
• Different codes for context/subject/ship-specific operations, for example, mandatory codes
40 like the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of
Ships and for Pollution Prevention (ISM) Code, the International Ship and Port
Facility Security (ISPS) Code, the International Code for the Safe Carriage of
Grain in Bulk (the Grain Code), the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes
(IMSBC) Code, the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code and
the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (the Polar Code). The
training requirements for these Codes are mentioned in the STCW Convention.
There are also recommendatory codes, for example, the Code of Practice for
the Safe Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers (BLU) Code, the Code of Safe
Practice for the Carriage of Cargoes and Persons by Offshore Supply Vessels
(OSV) Code among others.
40 Codes, in general, like resolutions, have the status in law of recommendatory instruments (soft
law) often treated as guidance without the mandatory force of law. However, in many cases the
contents of codes become mandatory when referred to in the text of mandatory instruments such as
Conventions (hard law) and compliance with their contents required by these “hard law”
instruments.
The Evolution of Seafarer Education and Training in International Law
483
The MLC, 2006, addresses “training and qualification” in its regulations with the
purpose of ensuring that “seafarers are trained or qualified to carry out their duties
on board ship” and that:
1. Seafarers shall not work on a ship unless they are trained or certified as
competent or otherwise qualified to perform their duties.
2. Seafarers shall not be permitted to work on a ship unless they have successfully
completed training for personal safety on board ship.
3. Training and certification in accordance with the mandatory instruments adopted
by the International Maritime Organization shall be considered as meeting the
requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Regulation.
The relevant primary “mandatory instrument” indicated in paragraph 3 may be
deemed to be the STCW Convention 1978, as amended. The Maritime Labour
Convention, 2006, which is now recognized as the seafarers’ “bill of rights” works
in tandem with the STCW and helps level the operational playing field for
shipowners.
4. Miscellaneous instruments of different legal standing and for different contexts of
ship operation
A number of instruments continue to relate to the education and training of
seafarers, including:
• The principles of safe manning and other such resolutions from the IMO;
• The International Telecommunications Union Radio Regulations relating to the
operation of equipment in the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System
(GMDSS);
• Different codes for context/subject/ship-specific operations, for example, mandatory codes
40 like the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of
Ships and for Pollution Prevention (ISM) Code, the International Ship and Port
Facility Security (ISPS) Code, the International Code for the Safe Carriage of
Grain in Bulk (the Grain Code), the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes
(IMSBC) Code, the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code and
the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (the Polar Code). The
training requirements for these Codes are mentioned in the STCW Convention.
There are also recommendatory codes, for example, the Code of Practice for
the Safe Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers (BLU) Code, the Code of Safe
Practice for the Carriage of Cargoes and Persons by Offshore Supply Vessels
(OSV) Code among others.
40 Codes, in general, like resolutions, have the status in law of recommendatory instruments (soft
law) often treated as guidance without the mandatory force of law. However, in many cases the
contents of codes become mandatory when referred to in the text of mandatory instruments such as
Conventions (hard law) and compliance with their contents required by these “hard law”
instruments.
The Evolution of Seafarer Education and Training in International Law
483