Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government which employment legislation applies to people employed on ships (1) that are registered (a) in the UK, (b) in the EU, and (c) elsewhere in the world, and (2) which operate (i) between UK ports, (ii) between UK and EU ports, and (iii) between the UK and rest of the world.

The international principles derive from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982. The first general principle is that a ship registered in the UK remains subject at all times, wherever it is located, to domestic UK law. This principle will be the case for any flag State whether it be the UK, an EU member State or another member State in the world. Hence, in broad terms, a person upon a UK flagged ship never leaves the UK’s legal jurisdiction whilst on board that ship. As the flag State, the UK is under a duty to “effectively exercise its jurisdiction and control in all administrative, technical and social matters”. Hence the UK as flag State has primary responsibility for the ship, including criminal jurisdiction, even when the ship is outside the UK’s territorial waters.

If the ship leaves UK territorial waters and enters the high seas (international waters), the UK as flag State retains exclusive jurisdiction (subject to limited exceptions) for so long as the ship remains on the high seas. The position becomes more complicated if the ship enters the territorial waters of another State, either for transit purposes or to visit a port in the other State. This is because international law recognises that different domestic jurisdictions may apply concurrently. In consequence, the UK ship, together with its crew, passengers and contents, may become subject to the domestic laws of the other State, as well as those of the UK.

Within that, the application of UK employment law may depend on where the vessel is working - domestic or deep sea, for how long or on the residency or nationality of the individual seafarer.

There are currently no agreed domestic employment provisions for any vessels not registered in the UK and/or the EU that are operating to or from the UK to the EU or the rest of the world. With the exception of those vessels operating on the Dover Strait, all of these vessels will enter the high seas as part of the voyage and therefore fall under the provisions previously described.