Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that the wellbeing of a ship's crew is linked to ship safety and included in international regulations.

The International Labour Organisation’s Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC), which the UK ratified in 2013, provides a global framework for decent living and working conditions for seafarers. The MLC has been amended three times since then to provide measures

• For financial support for seafarers abandoned by shipowners;

• To protect seafarers against bullying and harassment; and

• To ensure that employment protection remains in place throughout the period of captivity for seafarers held captive in cases of piracy or armed robbery.

The UK continues to take an active role in the international Committee which keeps the MLC under review and will support practical measures to improve the wellbeing of seafarers.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is expecting to publish new guidance for shipowners and for seafarers on wellbeing issues later this year.