With the increasing focus on the welfare and mental health
issuers for the world’s two million seafarers along with the increasingly
difficult work environments, a new initiative is launching to provide a uniform
code of conduct and assessment tool for ship owners, operators, and charters.
Design as a tool for the industry to demonstrate its commitment to seafarers’
welfare and provide transparency, the Code of Conduct builds on the ILO
Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) to provide a more comprehensive standard for
the industry and its employees.
“A sustainable shipping industry needs to ensure the
protection of its workforce. This presents a unique opportunity for the
industry to work together and take concrete action for the rights of nearly 2
million seafarers worldwide, now and in the future,” said Kristina Kunigenas,
Human Rights Lead at the Sustainable Shipping Initiative.
The project has been led by the Sustainable Shipping
Initiative (SSI) and the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), in
collaboration with the Rafto Foundation for Human Rights and RightShip. Key SSI
members played an active role in its development, with expert input from Forum
for the Future, Louis Dreyfus Company, Oldendorff Carriers, South32, Standard
Chartered Bank, Swire Shipping, and Wilhelmsen Ship Management.
Based on international labor and human rights standards and
principles, the Code of Conduct and self-assessment were created over eight
months of consultation and collaboration with shipowners, operators,
charterers, cargo owners, seafarers’ associations, civil society, and others.
According to the organizers, the initiative aims to support a safe, healthy,
and secure onboard work environment. The 52 clauses in the Code provide a tool
for shipowners, operators, charterers, and cargo owners to understand the
extent to which current operations meet crew welfare responsibilities.
“The global pandemic brought seafarers' rights firmly into
focus, with many crews forced to endure exceptionally difficult conditions to
keep global supply chains and trade freely flowing,” notes Frances House,
Deputy Chief Executive at IHRB. “We expect a great deal from them and it’s only
right that they expect an adequate standard of care, conditions, and quality
from us. This is a proud, vital industry that depends on people to keep
sailing. This Code of Conduct and self-assessment will help build a platform to
respect worker dignity while advancing industry progress. We look forward to
widespread engagement from industry stakeholders everywhere.”
To enable immediate action across the industry, RightShip
has launched an online self-assessment tool developed in collaboration with SSI
and IHRB. This freely available questionnaire provides practical guidance on
utilizing the Code of Conduct, helping shipowners and operators understand
their responsibilities while assessing current operations and ways of working,
and consequently showing areas for improvement.
The self-assessment is not ratings-based and respondents
will not be compared against other operators. Once submitted a self-assessment
on the Crew Welfare Tool, the project encourages the ship owners and operators
to work with their teams to explore the areas of improvement and to use the
results as a guide to strengthening crew welfare where gaps are found.