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Maritime Labour Notice (MLN) – 011(a)(Supersedes MLN 11)

To: Ship Owners, Operators, Masters, Officers and Classification Societies

This MLN provides guidance on compliance with Gibraltar regulations whichgive effect to MLC 2006 Title 2.5. Implementation of these guidelines will be taken
as evidence of compliance with the Gibraltar regulations.
The guidelines do not preclude the ship-owner from demonstrating an equivalent or
higher standard as an “alternative method” of evidence of compliance.

Documents referred to in this notice:
Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (as amended);
Gibraltar Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) Regulations 2012. Reg. 19
ILO Repatriation of Seamen Convention, 1926 (No.23);
Repatriation of Seafarers Convention (revised), 1987 (No.166); andSeafarer’s Employment Agreements.
Most regulations and notices are available on the website: www.gibraltarship.com

Repatriation
1. The International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC)
replaces the ILO Repatriation of Seamen Convention, 1926 (No.23) and the Repatriationof Seafarers Convention (revised), 1987 (No.166) which required ratifying countries to set
out in national laws or regulations the particulars to be provided for the repatriation of seafarers.
2. The MLC Regulation 2.5 and Standard A2.5 – Repatriation replaces ILO No.23 andNo.166, and requires ratifying countries to set out in national laws and regulations orother measures or in collective agreements the circumstances and entitlements to beprovided for the repatriation of seafarers.
3. The Gibraltar MLC regulations make the ship-owner responsible for the repatriation of only theseafarers they employ i.e. seafarers required to have a seafarer’s employmentagreement.

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4. MLC uses the term “ship-owner” to mean the owner of the ship, or another organisationor person such as the manager, agent or bareboat charterer, who has assumed theresponsibility for the operation of the ship from the owner and who, on assuming such
responsibility, has agreed to take over the duties and responsibilities imposed onship-owners in accordance with MLC, regardless of whether any other organisation orpersons fulfil certain of the duties or responsibilities on behalf of the ship-owner. For thevast majority of ships over 500 gross tonnes this will be the ISM Company.
Repatriation provisions in collective agreements (CAs)
5. Where MLC 2006, Title 2.5 – Repatriation, allows collective agreements to prescribe theterms and conditions of the repatriation of seafarers, this will be reflected in Gibraltar MLC regulations.
For example: MLC Standard A2.5.2 and A2.5.3 - Repatriation”2. Each Member shall ensure that there are appropriate provisions in its laws andregulations or other measures or in collective agreements, prescribing:(a) the circumstances in which seafarers are entitled to repatriation in accordance withparagraph 1(b) and (c) of this Standard;(b) the maximum duration of service periods on board following which a seafarer isentitled to repatriation – such periods to be less than 12 months; and(c) the precise entitlements to be accorded by ship-owners for repatriation, including
those relating to the destinations of repatriation, the mode of transport, the items ofexpense to be covered and other arrangements to be made by ship-owners.
3. Each Member shall prohibit ship-owners from requiring that seafarers make an advancepayment towards the cost of repatriation at the beginning of their employment, and also
from recovering the cost of repatriation from the seafarers’ wages or other entitlements
except where the seafarer has been found, in accordance with national laws or
regulations or other measures or applicable collective agreements, to be in serious
default of the seafarer’s employment obligations”.
6. This will mean that where a seafarer’s conditions of employment incorporates a CA andthe CA includes provisions relating to repatriation as set out in MLC Standard A2.5.2 (a)to (c) and A2.5.3 then those provisions will apply to the seafarer’s repatriation.
7. However if a seafarer’s conditions of employment does not incorporate a CA, then theGibraltar provisions for repatriation as prescribed in Gibraltar MLC regulations and below in thisMLN will apply to that seafarer.
Gibraltar Provisions for repatriationSeafarer’s entitlement to repatriation
8. Seafarers will be entitled to be repatriated when:a. their SEA expires when they are anywhere other than their repatriation destination;b. the period of notice required to be given to terminate an SEA by the ship-owner or by
the seafarer expires;c. the seafarer terminates their SEA because they are no longer able to carry out theirduties under their SEA or cannot be expected to carry them out in the following
circumstances:i. the seafarer’s SEA is terminated by the ship-owner;ii. in the event of illness or injury or other medical condition which requires theirrepatriation when found medically fit to travel;iii. in the event of shipwreck;

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iv. in the event of the ship-owner not being able to continue to fulfil their legal orcontractual obligations as an employer of the seafarer by reason of insolvency,
sale of ship, change of ship’s registration or any other similar reason;
v. in the event of a ship being bound for a war zone as defined by the United
Kingdom Warlike Operations Committee or the seafarer’s SEA, to which theseafarer does not consent to go;vi. in the event of termination or interruption of employment in accordance with anindustrial award or collective agreement, or termination of employment for any
other similar reason; andvii. compassionate or other urgent reasons (as described in MLN 2.1 SEAs).
d. The entitlement to repatriation may lapse if the seafarers concerned do not claim it within a reasonable
period of time as determined by the Maritime Administrator or collective agreements, except where they
are held captive on or off the ship as a result of acts of piracy or armed robbery against ships.
i.

piracy shall have the same meaning as in the United Nations Convention on the Law ofthe Sea, 1982

ii.

armed robbery against ships means any illegal act of violence or detention or any act ofdepredation, or threat thereof, other than an act of piracy, committed for private ends anddirected against a ship or against persons or property on board such a ship, within aState’s internal waters, archipelagic waters and territorial sea, or any act of inciting or of
intentionally facilitating an act described above.

Maximum duration of service periods on board
9. The maximum duration of service periods on board following which a seafarer is entitled
to repatriation must be less than 12 months.
Repatriation arrangements
10. The ship-owner is responsible under Gibraltar MLC regulations for making the following
arrangements for repatriation:a. the mode of transport shall be by the most appropriate and expeditious means andthe normal mode of transport shall be by air; andb. seafarers must be repatriated to one of the following destinations:i. the place at which the seafarer agreed to enter into the engagement;
ii. the place stipulated by a collective agreement;
iii. the seafarer’s country of residence; oriv. such other place as may be mutually agreed at the time of engagement.
Repatriation costs
9. The Gibraltar MLC regulations make the ship-owner responsible for covering the costs ofrepatriation until the seafarer has reached the repatriation destination as stated in theirSEA (destination must be from the list in 10.b. above)
10. The costs of repatriation must include at least the following:a. passage to the repatriation destination;b. accommodation and food from the moment the seafarer leaves the ship until theyreach the repatriation destination;c. pay from the moment the seafarer leaves the ship until they reach the repatriation
destination;d. sufficient money to meet minor ancillary costs likely to be incurred by the seafarer for
their relief and maintenance from the moment they leave the ship until they reachthe repatriation destination;e. transportation of 30kg of the seafarer’s personal luggage to the repatriation
destination; andf. medical treatment when necessary until the seafarer is medically fit to travel to therepatriation destination.

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Prohibition on advanced payments or recovering costs of repatriation
11. The Gibraltar MLC regulations will not allow the ship-owner to:a. require that seafarers make an advance payment towards the cost of repatriation at
the beginning of their employment; orb. recover the cost of repatriation from the seafarer’s wages or other entitlements
except where the seafarer has been found, in accordance with applicable collectiveagreements, to be in serious default of the seafarer’s employment obligations.
Repatriation of young seafarers
12. If during their first foreign–going voyage it becomes apparent that a seafarer under theage of 18 years is unsuited to life at sea they should be given the opportunity of being
repatriated from the first suitable port of call at no expense to themselves.
13. Where a young seafarer has been repatriated due to them being unsuited to life at sea,
notification of repatriation including reasons must be provided to the authority whichissued the papers enabling the young seafarers to take up sea-going employment.
Lapse of repatriation entitlement
14. A seafarer’s entitlement to repatriation will lapse if the seafarer does not claim it within
90 days.
Third-party contractual arrangements
15. The Gibraltar MLC regulations will not prejudice any right of the shipowner to recover
the cost of repatriation under third-party contractual arrangements.
Repatriation regulations must be carried on board
16. A copy of the Gibraltar MLC regulations must be carried on board all Gibraltar MLC ships and must be
available to all seafarersFinancial Security
17. The shipowner is responsible for providing financial security for the repatriation ofseafarers in accordance with the Gibraltar MLC regulations as described in this MLN.
18. Evidence of financial security must be available for inspection on all Gibraltar MLC ships inthe English language.

Dylan Cocklan
Maritime Administrator (Ag)
Issue date: August 2020

All notices are available through www.gibraltarship.com

This copy of the Administrative Instruction has been sent electronically and does not carry a signature or official stamp. A sign andstamped copy will be available upon request

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