Paris MOU to Inspect Working and Living Conditions on Ships

The Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control will launch a Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC,2006).

The aim of the CIC is to verify that the minimum standards for working and living conditions have been implemented on board. This inspection campaign will be held for a period of three months, commencing from 1 September 2016 and ending 30 November 2016.

The ship’s procedures and measures that are in place with respect to MLC,2006 will be checked in detail for compliance with the requirements during a regular Port State Control inspection.

Port State Control Officers (PSCOs) will use a list of 12 selected questions to ensure that the required certificates and documentation are present, in particular those related to the seafarers on board. Additionally, there are questions aimed at verification of records of the inspections of the accommodation, food and catering, and whether a safety committee has been established.

When deficiencies are found, actions by the port State may vary from recording a deficiency and instructing the master to rectify it within a certain period of time to detaining the ship until serious deficiencies have been rectified.

It is expected that the Paris MoU will carry out approximately 4,500 inspections during the CIC.