New Amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006: Linkages to Pandemic Lessons

Abstract for Scopus Indexing: COVID -19 pandemic public health restrictions degraded the labour and human rights of seafarers globally. Seafarers were denied medical care, repatriation, and leave. More than 400,000 seafarers were stranded at sea beyond the end of their contracts. Many studies evaluated the strengths and limitations of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 ( MLC , 2006) and criticized the violation of seafarers’ rights during the pandemic worldwide. However, few academic studies have interpreted the new MLC , 2006 amendments unveiled in 2022. To fill this research gap, this article examines to what extent the 2022 amendments of MLC , 2006 address maritime labour governance deficits revealed during the COVID -19 pandemic. Through an examination of the efforts made by representatives of seafarers, shipowners and governments at the Fourth Meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (2021–2022), we find that the 2022 amendments can enhance seafarers’ health and safety rights to personal protective equipment, free potable water, urgent medical care, prompt repatriation, and social connectivity. However, significant gaps remain, such as the lack of recognition of seafarers as key workers, and inadequate support for port-based welfare services. Robust collaboration and communication channels between flag, port, and labour-supplying States are still missing.