Page 12: of Maritime Logistics Professional Magazine (Q3 2013)

exclusively in inland waters or waters within, or closely adja- cent to, sheltered waters or areas where port regulations apply. Table 2 below is a summary of nominal procedures for ob- taining a Declaration of Maritime Labor Compliance CertiÞ cate (DMLC). All new ships ß agged in a Member State that are constructed after the Convention comes into force must be built to meet the requirements of the Convention. Attention must be paid in particular to accommodation areas, where more space may need to be set-aside for the crew. Ships built before the Convention comes into force are required to com- ply with existing requirements of the Flag State. Under the Convention, shipowners will be liable for costs in relation to illness, injury or death of crewmembers occurring during their duties on board. The provisions are quite wide in application. The exceptions - if enacted by Members in na- tional laws - would be limited to situations where;  Injury occurred otherwise than in service of the ship;  Injury or sickness was due to willful misconduct by the seafarer concerned; or  Sickness was intentionally concealed when the seafarer was taken on by the shipowner. The MLC 2006 will require that Flag States ensure that sea-farers are entitled to:  Repatriation, including repatriation in cases of a ship owner?s insolvency for which  nancial security must be in place;  Unemployment compensation resulting from a ship?s loss or foundering. Paid for the days during which the seafarer remains unemployed at the same rate as the wages payable under the employment agreement, but the total indemnity payable to any one seafarer may be limited to two months? wages;  Compensation in the event of death or long-term disability due to an occupational injury, illness or hazard as set out in national law, the seafarer?s employment agreement or collective agreement and for which the ship owner must provide  nancial security. In relation to the repatriation, sickness, injury or death, oc-curring in connection with seafarerÕs employment, Flag States will have to require ships ß ying their ß ag to maintain ÒÞ nan-cial securityÓ in respect of such claims. Financial security is not deÞ ned and the MLC does not prescribe the form or any amount of coverage. Each Flag State will require its own form of Þ nancial security in its own domestic legislation to imple- ment the Convention. Seafarers are entitled to repatriation in the following circumstances:  If the seafarers? employment agreement expires while they are abroad or is terminated by ship owner or seafarer for justi ed reasons or when the seafarer cannot carry out his duties or be expected to carry them out under speci c conditions;  In the event of illness or injury or other medical condition which requires repatriation when found medically  t to travel;  In the event of a shipwreck;  In the event of the ship owner not being able to continue to ful ll their legal or contractual obliga- tions as an employer of the seafarers by reason of insolvency, sale of ship, change of ship?s registration or any other similar reason;  In the event of a ship being bound for a war zone, as de ned by national laws or regulations or seafarers? employment agreements, to which the sea- farer does not consent to go; and  In the event of termination or interruption of employment in accordance with an industrial award or collective agreement or termination of employ- ment for any other similar reason. InsightsStep 1Application for DMLC I with the Flag State.Step 2Preparation of DMLC II by the shipowner. Step 3Submission of DMLC I & II for review. The result of a satisfactory review is the issuance of a ?Let- ter of Review? by Competent Authority that will be forwarded to the ship. Step 4Apply for the on-board inspection.Step 5On-board inspection. During the on-board in-spection, the Maritime Labor inspector will verify compliance with the ship?s national requirements for decent living and working conditions by us-ing various inspection methods: Collecting docu-ments evidence; Visual tour of the ship; Conduct- ing interviews with seafarers (in private). Step 6Issuance of Maritime Labor Certi cate incl. DMLC I & II. After successful inspection has been conducted, the Maritime Labor inspector will sign and stamp the DMLC and issue a Maritime Labor Certi cate.Table 2 : Summary of Procedures for Obtaining a Declaration of Maritime Labor Compliance Certi Þ cate.12 I Maritime Professional I 3Q 2013MP #3 1-17.indd 12MP #3 1-17.indd 129/10/2013 10:37:17 AM9/10/2013 10:37:17 AM