The human dimension

On August 20, 2013, the International Labour Organization’s Maritime Labour Convention will enter into force. Does that affect ports? It certainly does – yet the general response from ports (large and small) to emails and calls from Port Strategy was that the MLC, 2006 has nothing to do with them.

“No surprise there that ports know nothing,” says Dick Welsh, director of the Isle of Man Ship Registry. “As with all international conventions, governments sign and ratify it and it is the ships which have to comply first, while the government infrastructure rarely implements the changes they signed for in the first place – for example, Marpol reception facilities.”

In fact, there are some very specific issues that will impact directly on ports – not least, the possibility of a vessel being delayed for longer in port if Port State Control inspections find non-compliance on any of 14 inspection items under the MLC.

Then there are very specific requirements to enable shore leave for seafarers, and provide welfare facilities and services in ports. Regulation 4.4, ‘to ensure that seafarers working on board a ship have access to shore-based facilities and services to secure their health and wellbeing’, states: “Each [ILO] member shall ensure that shore-based welfare facilities, where they exist, are easily accessible. The member shall also promote the development of welfare facilities, such as those listed in the Code, in designated ports to provide seafarers on ships that are in its ports with access to adequate welfare facilities and services.”

It adds: “The responsibilities of each member with respect to shore-based facilities, such as welfare, cultural, recreational and information facilities and services, are set out in the Code.”

Small concerns

For the Isle of Man this is not onerous, says principal marine surveyor Ron Strathdee, who has led the MLC project for the registry. “We only have small ports, and seafarers have unrestricted access ashore to all public recreational facilities, places of worship, voluntary organisations and shops, etc. But for larger ports in other countries, this is not always the case. Some countries prevent or limit shore leave and/or access to facilities due to security reasons, post-ISPS.”

The focus on implementing MLC, 2006 has quite rightly been on ensuring that ships are inspected, comply and get certification, as the Convention is about seafarers’ rights, says Mr Strathdee. But while shipowners have been working to make sure their ships comply, there are other areas where the responsibility is with the ILO member state.

“You could argue that there is no responsibility on the ports, as the responsibility is on the ratifying governments to meet the Convention requirements. Therefore the governments and ports need to work together to encourage and promote welfare facilities in ‘appropriate ports’.”

MLC states that seafarers should receive information about facilities open to the general public in ports of call, particularly transport, welfare, entertainment and educational facilities and places of worship, as well as those provided specifically for seafarers. The guidelines state: “Adequate means of transport at moderate prices should be available at any reasonable time in order to enable seafarers to reach urban areas from convenient locations in the port.”

In addition: “Port areas and access roads should be provided by the competent authorities with adequate lighting and signposting and regular patrols for the protection of seafarers” and “every effort should be made by those responsible in port and on board a ship to facilitate shore leave for seafarers as soon as possible after a ship’s arrival in port.”

People count

Mr Strathdee says: “Too many ports seem to consider seafarers as an inconvenient necessity that gets in the way. It will be down to the governments of ratifying countries to demonstrate that they are changing this. It should be a fair analogy, but it isn’t – compare how airline crew are treated in foreign airports compared with ship’s crew in foreign seaports, and decide which career you would prefer.”

Ports are, and should be, a haven for seafarers, says Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, director of international labour standards at the International Labour Organization in Geneva.

“MLC is designed to ensure seafarers enjoy decent working and living conditions and that the shipowner has a level playing field, with ships getting in and out of port quickly as long as they meet the requirements,” she says.

“For seafarers, who may be at sea for six or nine months without seeing their families, the only place they get close to land is the port. With certain ships, it is often the only place they can make phone calls to their families and do the things we take for granted. And especially with today’s very short turnround of ships, it is even more important to have those facilities in the port. So port welfare facilities and the openness of ports to allow for port welfare facilities are very important.”

The survival of ports depends on the survival of a decent shipping industry, she says. “Therefore the industry must look not only at how it reduces pollution or how safe ships are, but also ensure that those who work onboard these ships are treated decently. Sometimes they only see one face – the PSC inspector – when they come into port.”

Safety sychronisation

The ILO is working hard to raise awareness of the MLC, and get across the message that the human dimension should be seen at the same level as ship safety, environmental issues, training and certification, says Dr Doumbia-Henry. “I hope we can all try to deliver that message to all the actors in the industry. Ports are pretty familiar with the human dimension in port workers, but need to recognise that seafarers are part of the broader maritime sector.”

MLC will definitely impact on port operations, she says. “I think port administrations and operators fail to see that in today’s world, we have an integrated supply chain network. It seems to be all about how you load and unload the ship in the fastest time possible so it can go out and be back on its way.

“Ports are used to seeing inspectors going on board ships; but now those inspectors are going to be looking at working and living conditions, the social dimension, not just structural issues. That includes employment agreements, hours of work and rest, occupational safety and health issues, and medical care. PSC officers will have new duties and that will impact on ports in the same way that SOLAS, STCW and Marpol have had their impact.

“You will now have to listen to seafarer complaints. If onboard complaints procedures don’t function well, PSC officers have an obligation to look into those complaints if they are filed onshore. If a seafarer requests to see the PSC officer, clearly that will impact on port operations; ships could end up in port for longer and that could throw the port’s own schedule.”

Positive spin

Port operators definitely have a role to play in MLC, says Dr Doumbia-Henry. “But I hope it would not affect port operations negatively; it should be seen as something positive.

“Ports are often the eyes and ears and certainly they will be a major pillar in the real effectiveness of MLC. For MLC to deliver, we need harmonised inspections around the world and a common understanding of what is required. We need cooperation and communication among countries, so that seafarers benefit from decent working and living conditions.”

The geography of MLC is somewhat complex. The Convention enters into force on August 20 for the first 30 members with registered ratifications: Liberia, Marshall Islands, Bahamas, Panama, Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spain, Croatia, Bulgaria, Canada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Switzerland, Benin, Singapore, Denmark, Antigua and Barbuda, Latvia, Luxembourg, Kiribati, Netherlands, Australia, Tuvalu, St Kitts and Nevis, Togo, Poland, Palau, Sweden, Cyprus, Russian Federation and The Philippines. These 30 countries will then have international responsibility for carrying out PSC inspections on foreign ships entering their ports.

At the time of writing, 43 countries had ratified MLC, covering nearly 70% of the world fleet based on gross tonnage. The other 13 are Morocco, Finland, Malta, Greece, France, Serbia, Nigeria, Barbados, South Africa, Gabon, Fiji, Lebanon, Vietnam. MLC, 2006 will enter into force for these 13, and any others, 12 months after the date their ratifications are registered.