The first Title of the MLC sets the minimum conditions a person must meet to work on a ship. These rules protect you and everyone else on board.
Minimum age (Regulation 1.1)
- No one under 16 may be employed, engaged or work on a ship.
- Night work for seafarers under 18 is prohibited. "Night" is defined nationally but must cover at least nine hours, starting no later than midnight and ending no earlier than 5 a.m. Limited exceptions may apply for recognized training programmes.
- Under-18s may not do work likely to jeopardize their health or safety.
- No one under 18 may work as a ship's cook (Standard A3.2).
Image: Happi raphael / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Medical certificate (Regulation 1.2)
- You must hold a valid medical certificate before starting work. A certificate issued under STCW is accepted for MLC purposes.
- It must state that your hearing and sight, and where relevant your colour vision, are satisfactory, and that you have no condition likely to be aggravated by service at sea.
- Validity: maximum two years; maximum one year if you are under 18. A colour-vision certificate is valid for up to six years.
- If it expires during a voyage, it stays valid until the next port where you can see a qualified doctor, for no more than three months.
- On ships on international voyages the certificate must be provided at least in English.
- If you are refused a certificate or given a limitation, you have the right to a further examination by another independent doctor or medical referee.
Training and qualifications (Regulation 1.3)
You may not work unless you are trained or certified for your duties and have completed training for personal safety on board. Training under IMO's mandatory instruments (STCW) meets this requirement.
Practical tip: Check your medical certificate's expiry date before signing a contract. If it will expire during the contract, tell the company in advance — the three-month grace period is a limit, not a guarantee.
Source: ILO, Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 — Regulations 1.1, 1.2, 1.3. This article is based on the MLC 2006 text published by the ILO and is for general information. Your flag State's law or your collective agreement may give you more favourable terms; in a specific dispute, talk to your union or a lawyer.
Full series: MLC 2006 Guide: Seafarers' Rights
