C1.4.o. The country in which a recruitment and placement service is located has ratified the Recruitment and Placement of Seafarers Convention, 1996 (No. 179). Does this guarantee that it is operating to the same standards as those required by the MLC, 2006?

No. Convention No. 179 and the MLC, 2006 provisions on recruitment and placement, although similar on many points, are not the same. For example, they differ with respect to costs to be covered and also the system of protection of seafarers in the event of the failure of the service or the shipowner. This question however is no longer relevant as currently no member State is bound by Convention No. 179. The Governing Body of the ILO has accordingly placed the withdrawal of this Convention on the agenda of the International Labour Conference of 2020.

Recruitment and placement