Maritime Labour Convention, 2006

The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended, (MLC, 2006), was adopted by the 94th (Maritime) Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) on 23 February 2006.

This Convention revises and consolidates 37 existing Conventions and the related Recommendations. The MLC, 2006, uses a new format with some updating, where necessary, to reflect modern conditions and language. In this manner, it sets out, in a single instrument, the right of the world’s 1.5 million seafarers to decent conditions of work in almost every aspect of their working and living conditions, including minimum age, employment agreements, hours of work and rest, payment of wages, paid annual leave, repatriation, on board medical care, the use of recruitment and placement services, accommodation, food and catering, health and safety protection and accident prevention, and complaint procedures for seafarers.

• MLC, 2006: What it is and what it does
• Advantages of the MLC, 2006
• Frequently Asked Questions (6th edition)
• Compendium of Maritime Labour Instruments (5th revised edition)

The MLC, 2006 entered into force on 20 August 2013. Its Code was amended in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2025.

• Text of the MLC, 2006 and amendments

Implementation

• MLC, 2006 implementation tools

Reporting and supervision

• Reports requested for the MLC, 2006, as amended
• Report form for the MLC, 2006, as amended
• Browse comments of the supervisory bodies on the application of the MLC, 2006

The amended version of the Seafarers' Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003 (No. 185) entered into force on 8 June 2017, incorporating the latest standards adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The issuance of the new Seafarers' Identity Documents (SID), with technology similar to the one currently used in electronic passports, contributes to facilitating access to shore leave, transfer and transit for seafarers while enhancing security in ports and borders through the use of a secure and internationally recognised document.

The Convention makes a vital contribution to the security of maritime transport in order to combat terrorist threats, and particularly to respond to the needs of seafarers in transit or transfer to join a ship or to be repatriated. It also facilitates access to shore facilities and shore leave, which are essential for the health and general welfare of seafarers, who often remain on board their ship for several months at a time.

• List of Members fully meeting the minimum requirements referred to in Article 5, paragraph 1, of the Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003, as amended (No. 185)
• See more information on Seafarers' identity documents