Videos

  1. A fair future for seafarers key to shipping’s recovery

    25 June 2021

    Hundreds of thousands of seafarers are still unable to join and leave their vessels due to restrictions put in place to contain COVID-19. It is critical to respect the rights of seafarers, as set out in maritime law, and ensure seafarers have a fair and sustainable future. #FairFuture4Seafarers

  2. To protect the oceans, we must promote decent work

    08 June 2021

    Millions of people depend directly on the sea for their livelihoods and hundreds of millions more rely on them for food. Exploitation and poor standards, whether environmental or labour, pose a threat both to the sustainability of the oceans and the wellbeing of humanity.

  3. End the plight of stranded seafarers

    24 September 2020

    COVID-19 containment measures, travel restrictions and border closures, continue to make it increasingly difficult for ship operators worldwide to conduct required crew changes. The ILO, shipowners’ and seafarers’ organizations and UN bodies call to end the plight of seafarers and to fully respect seafarers’ rights.

  4. Sectoral impact: COVID-19 creates rough seas for global shipping and fishing

    12 May 2020

    The COVID-19 crisis is affecting the personal safety and health of seafarers and fishers, their conditions of work and their ability to join and leave their vessels. This has had a negative impact on their capacity to perform their key role in ensuring transport by sea, serving passengers and harvesting seafood. With the shipping sector carrying 90 per cent of global trade and the maritime fishing sector being a major supplier of food and livelihoods, the impact of #COVID-19 on employment in these sectors is therefore substantial.

  5. Abandoned, but not alone

    07 April 2014

    ILO News visits the crew of the B Ladybug, who have been stranded off the coast of Malta for almost a year after their ship owner went bankrupt. The provision of financial security for abandoned seafarers and the issue of compensation are two key topics under discussion this week at the ILO.

  6. Taking Decent Work on Board

    21 August 2012

    When the ILO adopted the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006) in February 2006, Director-General Juan Somavia called it "making labour history" for seafarers around the world.The MLC, 2006, will come into force 12 months after ratification by 30 ILO member States, representing a total share of at least 33 percent of the world's gross tonnage (gt) of ships. The Convention promotes a strong enforcement regime to ensure that labour standards are enforced as effectively as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) conventions on ship safety, security and environmental protection (SOLAS/MARPOL) by both flag and port States.

  7. Getting On Board with the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006

    07 April 2011

    The ILO's Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), 2006 provides comprehensive rights and protection at work for the world's more than 1.2 million seafarers. The Convention aims to achieve both decent work for seafarers and secure economic interests in fair competition for ship-owners.

  8. New Skills and New Faces Revive Argentina’s Naval Industry

    05 June 2008

    South of Buenos Aires is Mar del Plata, a popular seaside resort and one of Argentina’s major ports. For years Mar del Plata had an important ship-building industry, but when the government liberalised the economy in the 1990s most of the ship-yards were forced to downsize or close down. The AREA programme has helped them get back on their feet, by bringing workers, employers and learning institutions together to address the needs of the industry.

  9. Denmark: Port State Control

    19 January 2006

    Long before talk of globalization, seafarers lived and worked in a globalized world, with working conditions subject to 60 different labour conventions and recommendations. The International Labour Organisation has now brought all the different rules and regulations together under one maritime labour convention. ILO TV goes on board a North Sea oil tanker in Denmark to check that all is ship-shape.

  10. CONDITIONS IN THE MARITIME INDUSTRY

    07 December 2001

    More than 90 percent of the world’s trade tonnage is carried by a merchant fleet of some 50,000 ships. According to a report from the International Labour Organization (ILO), changes in the financing and management of these ships has led to deregulation and more flexible working conditions for seafarers, but these conditions are not always to their advantage.

  11. ABANDONED IN AMSTERDAM

    05 December 2001

    It used to be that a seafarer would only abandon ship under the most dire circumstances. But more and more, it is the seafarer who is finding himself abandoned, stranded and forgotten in foreign ports all over the world. It is a growing problem as ILO Television explains:

  12. Shipbreakers

    22 October 2001

    On 20 kilometers of sloping beaches in Bangladesh, an army of men daily perform some of the world’s toughest work. Tankers that survived years of high-seasoned heavy loads are now dismantled as they were built, by hand.