C1.4.p. When I was recruited to work on a ship, my employer was a manning agency and they signed my employment contract. Is that acceptable under the MLC, 2006?

All seafarers must have a seafarers’ employment agreement (SEA) signed by the shipowner or a representative of the shipowner and that clearly identifies the shipowner as a responsible party under the agreement even if others, such as a manning agency, may also have employment-related responsibilities [see C2.1.e.]. Some countries have developed standard forms for the SEA that allow a shipowner and any other employer (like a manning agency) to sign as jointly responsible or as guarantor. In other words, even where a seafarer may be working for a manning agency, he or she would still need to have a SEA signed by the shipowner or representative of the shipowner addressing the matters set out in Standard A2.1, paragraph 4.

Recruitment and placement