C2.1.c. Can a SEA be issued in an electronic form?

Nothing in the MLC, 2006, as currently drafted, would prevent national administrations from authorizing the creation and storage of SEAs in electronic format. Nonetheless, the use of electronic SEAs should not in any manner weaken the obligations under Standard A2.1, including the fact that the shipowner and seafarer concerned shall each have a signed original of the seafarers’ employment agreement nor render more cumbersome the access of inspectors to such documents.

Seafarers’ employment agreements