MLC 2006: Costamare Shipping demonstrates compliance

10. Jun. 2010 | Athens/Greece - Costamare Shipping supplements its safety, quality and environmental management system with the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006). The requirements of the MLC 2006 have been successfully implemented onboard their MV COSCO NINGBO. The MLC 2006 has been introduced by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). All vessels of 500 GT or above on international voyages will need to demonstrate a valid MLC 2006 certificate after entry into force which is expected at the end of 2011. Dr Hermann J. Klein, Member of GL's Executive Board, awarded Costamare with a statement of compliance for MLC 2006 at Posidonia 2010 in Greece.

"This certification demonstrates Costamare's commitment to decent living and working conditions of seafarers on their ships before the new Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 comes into force. Costamare's pro-active approach has enabled them to include the key requirements of the MLC 2006 into their existing management system from which they could prepare a voluntary Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance. This is the cornerstone for amending any Flag State requirements into their system, which may come up once the new convention has been adopted," said Dr Klein.

Costamare Shipping has a pioneering task in the maritime industry for several years. They were one of the first shipowners implementing GL's onboard system to navigate more safely in extreme weather conditions and operated the first ships with operational CO2-Index.

Having implemented the requirements on one of its 26 vessels, and made Masters, Management onboard and Seafarers familiar with the MLC 2006 means that the company can now continue with the implementation process throughout their entire fleet to meet the requirements. In order to ensure compliance well in advance and speed up the issuing of a compulsory certificate when the Convention enters into force, GL offers ship owners, managers and yards a comprehensive ILO certification package. To help ship owners to identify necessary improvements GL offers a self-assessment tool. In addition, with a gap analysis on board, GL can determine what needs to be improved before the ship fulfils the requirements of the MLC 2006.

For those flag States having published their national law implementing the MLC 2006 requirements and having authorized GL to conduct inspections and certification on their behalf, GL can provide pre-certification service to ensure smooth transfer from a MLC Statement of Compliance into a final flag State Certification. Furthermore, several flag states consult with GL as Recognized Organization on the implementation of the MLC 2006.

The MLC 2006 regulates working and living conditions for seafarers and helps to create conditions of fair competition for ship owners. The MLC 2006 consolidates present almost all of the existing maritime labour instruments and is seen as the "fourth pillar" of maritime regulation beside SOLAS, MARPOL and STCW conventions. The MLC 2006 will come into force twelve months after ratification by at least 30 ILO member countries with a total share of at least 33 per cent of the world's gross tonnage. Until now the Bahamas, Liberia, Panama, Norway, the Marshall Islands, Spain, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bulgaria ratified the convention.

Germanischer Lloyd press release