The Maritime Labour Convention went in to force in 2006, with amendments in 2014. The convention regulates working and living conditions for seafarers.
In total, there are more than 28 000 seafarers and fishers covered by national laws and regulations. There are approximately 10 500 seafarers on ships subject to the MLC (2006) flying the Norwegian flag.
The MLC certification and inspections on Norwegian ships was carried out by the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) and the six recognized classification societies (DNV GL, BV, ABS, LR, RINA, ClassNK).
Some statistics:
- 843 ships Norwegian ships with valid MLC 2006 certificate;
- 692 inspections MLC inspections on Norwegian ships with MLC 2006 certificate;
- 249 deficiencies on Norwegian ships with an MLC certificate;
- 1 ship was detained in port State control. No Norwegian ships were detained or prohibited from leaving port due to serious MLC deficiencies given by the Norwegian flag state;
- More than 1600 inspectors worldwide carrying out MLC-inspections, including recognized organizations.
- 254 MLC inspections carried out on Norwegian cargo and passenger ships not required to have MLC Certificate; 286 deficiencies were found on 96 of the inspected ships.
- The NMA received 10 complaints on Norwegian ships in 2016. No complaints resulted in detention.
- NMA carried out one unscheduled MLC inspection in 2016.
- Occupational injuries and diseases: 232 personal injuries were registered, of which 18 were related to ship casualties. The rest were work-related. This is a reduction of about 30 compared to a five-year average. Of the 232 injuries, 41% are due to contact with objects; 3% due to slips and falls. There were no fatalities.