Purpose of this report

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is pleased to present the 2023 Australian Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC) annual report.

This report aims to present findings on key MLC data in Australian waters. It presents an analysis of MLC complaints, compliance and follow-up actions undertaken by AMSA in Australia for 2023.

The information in this report will be used to inform the 2024-2025 National Compliance Plan. Every year AMSA undertakes a range of planned and responsive activities to keep people safe and to protect the marine environment which is outlined in the National Compliance Plan.

Application of the MLC

The MLC applies¹ to all commercial vessels² whether publicly or privately owned. It does not apply to fishing vessels, vessels of traditional build (such as dhows and junks), warships or naval auxiliaries or vessels not ordinarily engaged in commercial activities.

A list of the 105 member states that have ratified the convention after 20 August 2013 is available on the International Labour Organization (ILO) website.  

Australia’s obligation under the MLC

In Australia, the MLC is implemented primarily through the Navigation Act 2012³ and associated delegated legislation such as Marine Order 11 (Living and working conditions on vessels) 2015.

AMSA verifies compliance with the MLC by:

• Responding to MLC complaints received from seafarers engaged on vessels in, or coming into, Australian ports.
• Conducting port and flag State control inspections of vessels coming into Australian ports.
• Requiring regulated Australian vessels to be certified in accordance with the MLC, as given effect by Marine Order 11 (Living and working conditions on vessels) 2015.
• Taking a leading role in supporting seafarer welfare through the Australian Seafarers Welfare Council.

AMSA continues to do its part to ensure seafarers on vessels visiting Australian ports are being afforded the requirements under the MLC.

The Australian Seafarers’ Welfare Council

The MLC requires signatory countries to establish welfare boards at the port, regional and national level to support seafarer welfare. In Australia, the Australian Seafarer Welfare Council (ASWC) was established to ensure there is a continuous national approach in the provision of welfare services.

ASWC aims to promote seafarer welfare issues and the services available in Australian ports to support and protect seafarers. The ASWC meets three times a year and AMSA plays a leadership (chair and secretariat) role in the work that ASWC aims to achieve, namely to:

• Provide leadership in the implementation of Australia’s obligations to seafarers under the MLC
• Assist in the establishment of a national network of seafarer support arrangements
• Promote, encourage, and support the delivery of seafarer welfare services at Australian ports.

These aims are encompassed by ASWC’s strategic goals and progressed against these goals for 2023 as listed in Table 1 below. 

Table 1 – Progress against the ASWC strategic goals for 2023

Seafarer welfare campaigns and publications

Every year AMSA undertakes a range of planned compliance and educational activities outlined in the AMSA National Compliance Plan. As part of the National Compliance Plan, AMSA continues to ensure seafarers on vessels visiting Australian ports were, and are, being afforded the requirements under the MLC.

AMSA also sponsors the Daily Cargo News (DCN) Australian Shipping & Maritime Industry Seafarers Welfare award, together with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts annually. The Award recognises the commitment of a company to the mental, physical and pastoral welfare of seafarers. The Port Community of Port Kembla was the 2023 recipient of the award. The Port Community of Port Kembla stood out among a worthy field of nominees for their proactive and collaborative approach in supporting seafarers’ welfare, including replacing the Mission to Seafarers Port Kembla minibus, organising a successful vaccination program, as well as supporting the crew of the Ruby Princess.

Guidance and publications

A Marine Notice emphasising the requirement for shipowners and operators to provide shore leave for seafarers visiting Australian ports has been republished. Further guidance on the maximum continuous period a seafarer can serve on board a vessel without taking leave is also available on the AMSA website.

AMSA published a Maritime Safety Awareness Bulletin on safe working conditions and practices on board vessels in September 2023. The bulletin highlighted the importance of establishing a positive safety culture and effective communication between all parties to minimise the risk of accidents.  

The maritime news website SAFETY4SEA interviewed AMSA’s CEO, Mick Kinley, for the issue 78 - February 2023 publication. He highlighted the need for the maritime industry to focus on safe workplaces, decent working and living conditions as welfare issues continue to exist against the backdrop of a rapidly changing industry.  No other profession relies so heavily on a network of charitable organisations to undertake basic welfare duties that would ordinarily be the responsibility of a company/employer. SAFETY4SEA also conducted an interview with the Chair of the AMSA Board, Capt. Jeanine Drummond, who emphasised seafarers must have a voice into what they really need to improve conditions onboard.   

ASWC website

In 2023, a new website was launched for the Australian Seafarers Welfare Council (ASWC). The website aims to promote the council and its work on seafarer welfare matters. The website includes an interactive map of seafarer welfare facilities, seafarer support resources and a dedicated section on port welfare committees established in Australian ports. The council will continue building the website and promote its reach to international seafarers visiting Australian ports. 

Footnotes

¹ Article II.4 of the MLC

² Derivations of the word ‘vessel’ are used by AMSA interchangeably with derivations of the word ‘ship’, as in IMO, ILO, Australian legislation, and other relevant documents. Note: Domestic commercial vessels are subject to other provisions.

³ The requirements of the MLC are met through various legislative instruments not limited to the Navigation Act.

MLC complaints received

The MLC requires all vessels to establish an onboard complaints procedure that provides seafarers with the opportunity to make complaints without concern or repercussion. The MLC also has provisions which gives rights to seafarers to make a complaint to the relevant flag or port State authorities when they believe that their living and/or working conditions on board are below standard.

AMSA received and processed a total of 1935 complaints since the implementation of the MLC (August 2013).

In 2023, AMSA received 214 complaints¹ representing an 18% decrease on the number received in 2022 (261). The number of complaints has continued to decline from the peak of 320 in 2020. The reduced frequency of complaints is indicative of industry and operators continued adjustment following the COVID-19 pandemic peak but is still higher than pre-Covid levels. 

Figure 1 MLC complaints received by year

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Follow up to complaints received

When complaints are received by AMSA, all necessary actions are taken to ensure the confidentiality of the seafarer making the complaint. Where appropriate, AMSA encourages resolution of complaints at shipboard level, and if this is not possible, at the flag State level. If a complaint can’t be resolved, AMSA will follow-up and may issue deficiencies or detain the vessel.

AMSA may refuse vessels access to Australia where there are significant concerns about the performance of vessels and they pose an increased risk to seafarers, other vessels and the marine environment. AMSA has a zero-tolerance approach to breaches under the MLC and has issued direction notices refusing vessels access to Australian ports for systemic non-compliance with the MLC (Refusal of access list and letters of warning list).

Since 2018, a total of 25 vessels have been issued with a direction notice refusing them access to Australian ports.  Of these vessels, 14 were banned for serious breaches of the MLC primarily relating to underpayment of wages, decent working and living conditions and inadequate provisions. Over $95,000 USD was recovered from vessels in 2023. In 2023, one vessel² was banned from Australian ports due to MLC breaches. The reasons for the ban included systemic underpayment of wages and seafarers being coerced into signing new employment agreements. The vessel was banned for a period of 12 months.

In 2023, follow up investigations of MLC complaints resulted in 24 vessels receiving MLC-related deficiencies, five of which were detained³ .

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Figure 2 Number of MLC complaints resulting in the deficiency or vessel detention between 2019-2023

Breakdown of complaints by vessel type

In 2023, 58.9% of complaints received were from seafarers engaged on bulk carriers. This is a 3.6% reduction from the 2022 complaints. Bulk carriers accounted for 50.4% of all arrivals and 51.6% of initial port State control (PSC) inspections⁴ .

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Figure 3 Breakdown of complaints by vessel type for 2023

Table 2 Percentage of MLC complaints by vessel type as a proportion of the unique arrivals for each vessel type.

Breakdown of complaints by State

Figure 4 shows complains received broken down by the Australian state or territory in which the vessel arrived in 2023. Western Australia (35%) and Queensland (25.2%t) represented the highest number of complaints.  Western Australia (34.3%) and Queensland (25.9%) continue to represent the majority of vessel arrivals in Australia in 2023.

Figure 4 Number of complaints received by State for 2023

Complaints received by MLC titles

The main body of the MLC (the regulations and the code) is grouped into five main titles
with data coded accordingly.

Title 1 – Minimum requirements for seafarers to work on vessels
Title 2 – Conditions of employment
Title 3 – Accommodation, recreational facilities, food and catering
Title 4 – Health Protection, medical care, welfare, and social security protection (including bullying and harassment)
Title 5 – Compliance and enforcement

Complaints on Title 2 of the MLC - Conditions of employmentcontinue to make up the majority of MLC complaints received as per Table 3. This includes seafarer employment agreements (SEAs), wages, hours of work and rest, entitlement to leave, repatriation, and crewing⁵ levels. This is followed by title 4 - Health Protection, medical care, welfare, and social security protection (including bullying and harassment) which remains consistent across the years.AMSA will continue to monitor these trends and ensure compliance with MLC is upheld by vessels coming into Australian waters.

Table 3 MLC complaints breakdown by title⁶ 2019-2023

Conditions of employment (Title 2)

Table 4 Title 2 complaints for 2019-2023

The proportion of Title 2 complaints in relation to all other complaints decreased slightly from 56.9% in 2022 to 53.8% in 2023. Complaints received regarding seafarer employment agreements continues to decrease from 41 in 2022 to 28 in 2023 as per Table 4. Similarly, repatriation-related Title 2 complaints decreased from 56 in 2022 to 23 in 2023 (Table 4). This is an indication that AMSA’s response to repatriation complaints is effective, and industry and operators are better equipped to manage the repatriation of seafarers.

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Figure 5 Title 2 by percentage of regulation for 2023

Health protection, medical care, welfare, social security protection (Title 4)

Table 5 Title 4 complaints for 2019-2023

In 2023, most of the complaints (77.8%) received for Title 4 were regarding concerns with health and safety protection and accident protection. The marine notice on access to shore leave for seafarers was republished to highlight the importance of granting shore leave to seafarers and the benefits to seafarer wellbeing and recovery associated with shore leave.

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Figure 6 Title 4 by percentage of regulation for 2023

Breakdown of complaints by outcome

AMSA endeavours to follow-up on all reported MLC complaints —and has done so—except in cases where the vessel is outside of Australian waters and not bound for an Australian port and therefore beyond the regulatory oversight of AMSA. In those situations, AMSA refer the complaint to the flag State of the vessel and/or the next port State. AMSA may also place alerts on the vessel to ensure the complaint is followed-up when it next arrives in Australia. In all cases we try to ensure that the confidentiality of the complainant is maintained. Where AMSA refers information to the flag State or next port State, we expect that similar steps are taken to ensure the confidentiality of the complainant.

Figure 7 provides a breakdown of the follow up actions undertaken. The figures remain consistent, with a slight increase in complaints originating from foreign vessels that are not in Australian waters or on a voyage to Australia. This is likely due to the reputation Australia has regarding seafarer welfare.

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Figure 7 Breakdown of complaints by outcomes for 2023

Breakdown of complaints received by flag State

Figure 8 shows the distribution of complaints received from foreign flagged vessels by flag State for 2023. Figure 9 shows the distribution of complaints when the number of port arrivals is taken into consideration⁷ .

The flag States in Figure 8 and 9 accounted for 73% of foreign flagged port arrivals in Australia and represented 87% of complaints received from foreign flagged vessels in 2023.

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Figure 8: Data showing percent of complaints received by flag State for 2023

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Figure 9: Data showing percent of complaints received as a proportion to port arrivals for each flag State for 2023

Source of complaints

Most of the complaints originated directly from seafarers. This is consistent with previous years. This is likely an indication of the increased awareness of seafarers’ rights under the MLC and the reputation Australia has on MLC matters. Seafarers are therefore more confident that their concerns are taken seriously and treated confidentially when in Australia.

Table 6 Source of complaints 2019-2023

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Figure 10 Breakdown of the source of the complaints 2019-2023

Footnotes

¹ 2023 data includes one complaint received from one regulated Australian vessel (RAV). The complaint received was under MLC Title 3: Accommodation and recreational facilities, food and catering. 

² Further information about the ban is available on the AMSA website.

³ Seven vessels were detained during a follow-up inspection for deficiencies other than MLC.

⁴ Further information on AMSA’s PSC activities is available in the 2023 AMSA Annual Inspections report.

⁵ Derivations of the word 'crewing' are used by AMSA interchangeably with derivations of the word 'manning', as in IMO, ILO, Australian legislation, and other relevant documents.

⁶ An MLC complaint can include more than 1 concern, therefore more than 1 MLC Title can be assigned to the complaint.

⁷ Normalising the data by port arrivals provides for a better reflection of the complaint rate of vessels from different flag States.

⁸ ‘Other’ includes complaints received from family or friends of affected seafarers.

2022/2023 – YANGTZE FORTUNE

On 2 December 2022, Federal Court Admiralty Marshal effected an arrest of the vessel for outstanding debts due to commercial disputes and owed wages. AMSA monitored the crew welfare on board the vessel and worked with the Admiralty Marshal to ensure that crew welfare and entitlements were maintained.

On 5 January 2023, AMSA in consultation with the vessel’s flag state Liberia and the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) issued a notice of abandonment ¹ to the International Labour Organization (ILO) as the seafarers were owed more than 2 months of wages. This is the first time that AMSA has had to issue an abandonment notice. On 23 January 2023, all seafarers were repatriated home and on 5 June 2023, all seafarers received all their outstanding wages.

Protecting and upholding seafarer welfare remains a high priority for AMSA .

2023 – WOOYANG VENUS

AMSA received a complaint from the ITF regarding quality of provisions, inadequate hours of rest and bullying allegations onboard the vessel. AMSA inspected the vessel and found objective evidence to substantiate the complaint, including poor quality of provisions, seafarers’ hours of work and rest were being falsified, shipboard working arrangements did not reflect actual watchkeeping hours as well as evidence the Master had physically assaulted a seafarer onboard. Deficiencies were issued and the vessel was subsequently detained.

A Rectification Action Plan (RAP) was required to ensure the deficiencies were followed up. The company provided a RAP which included granting a crew member’s request to be repatriated, forming a catering committee to prevent and ensure adequate provisions were provided onboard, distributing circulars to their fleets regarding the handling of crew complaints as well as education on complying with seafarers’ hours of work and rest and maintaining accurate records to reflect actual hours worked. The RAP was accepted to AMSA’s satisfaction prior to the vessel being released from detention.

2023 – MSXT EMILY

In August 2023, AMSA received a complaint from the ITF that there were insufficient provisions onboard as well as issues with wages and hours of work and rest. AMSA inspected the vessel and found evidence the seafarers were not being paid at monthly intervals in accordance with their respective Seafarer Employment Agreement (SEA), and evidence their signatures on the SEAs were forged and seafarers being coerced to signing new SEA with lower salaries. The vessel was subsequently detained and banned from Australian waters for one year.

The wages recovered was approximately A$76,890 and was paid in full to the seafarers prior to the vessel being released from detention. AMSA also notified the Liberian flag State, and the port State of the vessel’s next port of call, Japan.

Footnotes

¹ The MLC (Standard 2.5.2) states that a seafarer “shall be deemed abandoned where, the shipowner:

1. fails to cover the cost of the seafarers’ repatriation; or
2. has left the seafarer without necessary maintenance and support; or
3. has otherwise unilaterally severed ties with the seafarer including failure to pay contractual wages for a period of at least two months”.

Serious injuries (2020-2023)

Figure 11 shows the number of serious injuries to seafarers reported to AMSA between 2020 and 2023.

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Figure 11 Number of serious injuries¹ reported to AMSA 2020-2023

Table 7 shows the number of serious injuries reported by regulated Australian vessels and foreign-flagged vessels. It should be noted that regulated Australian vessels report to AMSA regardless of their geographical location. Foreign-flagged vessels are only required to report injuries that occur in Australian waters.

Table 7 Breakdown of serious injuries split by regulated Australian vessels and foreign-flagged vessels, 2020-2023

Fatalities (2021-2023)

AMSA categorises all deaths at sea according to the taxonomy² below:

• Operational
• Illness/disease
• Person overboard (presumed deceased)
• Suicide

The total number of seafarer fatalities reported to AMSA from 2019 to 2023 includes fatalities which occurred within the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)³ and fatalities which occurred outside of the Australian EEZ but were still reported to AMSA.

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Figure 12 Total reported seafarer fatalities by jurisdiction, type of fatality and year, 2019-2023

There has been a decrease in reported fatalities by illness/disease in 2023. It is likely the higher numbers reported for 2020 and 2021 may have been exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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Figure 13 Proportion of reported deaths by fatality type 2021-2023 (combined)

Illness/disease continues to make up most of the reported fatalities as seen in Figure 13. However, it is difficult to ascertain whether this is consistent with global trends due to the lack of data being made available by flag States. In 2022, AMSA submitted a proposal to mandate the requirement to report all fatalities at sea to the International Labour Organization at the 4th meeting of the MLC Special Tripartite Committee (STC). The STC agreed to the proposal for deaths of seafarers on board vessels to be reported annually to the International Labour Organization (ILO) and for the relevant data to be published in a global register. These amendments will enter into force in December 2024.

Fatality rate

In 2023, the fatality rate (the number of fatalities per 100,000 seafarers⁴ ) for foreign flagged vessels in Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone was 1.1. This is lower than the three-year average fatality rate of 1.8 as per Table 8.  This three-year average fatality rate is slightly higher than the Australian national fatality five-year average rate of 1.4⁵ .

Also noted by the SafeWork Australia’s Work-related, traumatic injury fatalities Australia 2021 report, fatality rates are sensitive to the number of people employed in the industry and this may be particularly evident with small variation in the number of fatalities for smaller industries that employ fewer employees⁶ . Therefore, the actual number of fatalities needs to be considered when interpreting the fatality rates for this data.

Table 8:  Fatality rate per 100,000 seafarers

Footnotes

¹ AMSA classifies serious injuries to include injuries that require emergency treatment, in most cases leading to an emergency medivac from the vessel and/or hospitalisation.

² Refer to the glossary of the report.

³ The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea. The outer limit of the exclusive economic zone cannot exceed 200M from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. The Australian EEZ is defined in the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973 ('the SSL Act').

⁴ Based on a calculated approximation of 90,000 seafarers engaged on foreign flagged vessels in Australian waters in 2022.

⁵ Safe Work Australia, Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia, 2023

⁶ Safe Work Australia, Work-related, traumatic injury fatalities Australia 2021\

Port and flag State control (PSC and FSC) are conducted in accordance with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) and International Labour Organization’s (ILO) requirements. Primarily, compliance activities may involve issuing deficiencies or a detention (a prohibition on the vessel being allowed to depart the port). 

In 2023, AMSA conducted a total of 2797 initial PSC inspections resulting in 176 detentions (11 of which were MLC-related).

MLC compliance is one of the core elements of all PSC and FSC inspections. When investigating an MLC complaint, AMSA may attend onboard to conduct an MLC inspection. Where this inspection identifies deficiencies, AMSA will then undertake a port or flag State control inspection, and this will likely include a more detailed inspection. Figure 14 shows the number of MLC deficiencies issued following PSC inspections.

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Figure 14 Total number of MLC deficiencies issued per year including MLC deficiencies per inspection, 2019-2023.

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Figure 15 Number of PSC MLC related detentions per year 2019-2023

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Figure 16 MLC defiencies as a proportion of all PSC deficiencies in 2023

Further information on the rate of MLC deficiencies by vessel type is available in the AMSA Annual Inspections report .

PSC deficiency data related to MLC issues

Figure 17 shows the number of PSC MLC deficiencies issued by MLC title in 2023, originating from a more detailed inspection or a PSC inspection.

Regulation 4.3, dealing with health and safety protection and accident prevention, is the major deficiency item identified and is reflected in the number of Title 4 deficiencies below. While most complaints were related to Title 2 – Conditions of employment (as seen in Table 3), PSC MLC deficiency data has identified that health and safety protection which includes bullying and harassment)is the most frequently recorded MLC deficiency on foreign-flagged vessels.

Title 1 – Minimum requirements for seafarers to work on vessels

Title 2 – Conditions of employment

Title 3 – Accommodation, recreational facilities, food and catering

Title 4 – Health protection, medical care, welfare and social security protection (including bullying and harassment)

Title 5 – Compliance and enforcement 

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Figure 17 PSC MLC deficiencies originating from a complaint or PSC inspection. 

FSC deficiency data related to MLC issues

In 2023, a total of 96 initial FSC inspections were carried out. 29 MLC deficiencies were issued across a total of 19 regulated Australian vessels (16 vessels with one deficiency, 2 vessels with two deficiencies and one vessel with more than two deficiencies).

Figure 18 shows a breakdown of MLC deficiencies by MLC Title issued during FSC inspections on regulated Australian vessels with Title 4 - Health Protection, medical care, welfare and social security protection representing the highest number.

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Figure 18 FSC MLC deficiencies by MLC Title and whether related to complaint 

Glossary – Fatality Type

Footnotes

¹ Refer to the ILO list of occupational diseases (revised 2010), available at: http://www.ilo.org/safework/info/publications/WCMS_125137/lang--en/index.htm

² Use of term injury rather than harm as this is consistent with ILO definition of occupational injury (which includes fatal injuries).