Liberia-flag OSV Detained for MLC Breach

The offshore supply vessel 'Atlantic Carrier' was detained for 24 hours in Esbjerg, as the Danish Maritime Authority discovered during a port control inspection that the crew had not been provided with employment contracts as required by the recently introduced Maritime Labour Convention (MLC).

"It is satisfying to see that the MLC requirements are incorporated in the Danish authority’s port state control. The seafarers' employment is quite basic. The contract is a piece of paper that states under which conditions he or she is employed. Conditions such as wages, rights during sickness, etc must be included in the contract and if this is missing, no one can be aware of the terms," says the Danish seafarers' association president of CO-Søfart, Ole Philipsen.

Ole Philipsen has on several occasions emphasized  MLC requirements as being the most important measure for seafarers since World War II. Conditions on board a ship have not previously been part of the inspectors' duties while performing Port State Control.



The owners of the OSV Atlantic Carrier provided the necessary contracts to crew members, and the vessel was able to continue to operate in the North Sea, where it is employed in work on the offshore wind farm DanTysk.