Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 16 March (HL6741) and the recent actions by P&O Ferries, what plans they have to sign the UN Convention on Conditions for the Registration of Ships; and what plans they have to improve safeguards for seafarers’ jobs by encouraging other countries to sign the Convention.

Her Majesty’s Government will continue to review the merits of signing the UN Convention on Conditions for the Registration of Ships. However, the intent of the Convention is already enshrined in UK Maritime Law through other legislative instruments and conventions, in particular the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), 2006, which is in force internationally, which deals with seafarers’ welfare. Neither the UN Convention on Conditions for the Registration of Ships nor the Maritime Labour Convention necessarily protect safeguards for seafarers’ jobs, but the MLC does provide a standard for protecting seafarers’ welfare and fair treatment when employed.