The enormous technological, financial, and structural changes of recent decades have revolutionized the international shipping industry, bringing about lower freight rates, shorter time in port and fast turnarounds, reduction in crew size, employment of cheap labour from developing countries, avoidance of national regulations and taxes, and diminished living and working standards on board. Exploitation of seafarers has always existed, but now it has become more common and frequent. Shipowners can cut costs in various ways, but the most profitable and easiest to achieve are those at the expense of labour costs, in particular costs for maintaining proper living conditions on board the ship. This bulletin examines in detail the structure of the shipping industry, focusing on problems concerning the working and living conditions of seafarers on board merchant ships serving the global sea transport system. Exploring all levels of maritime policymaking on a global and European level, the author analyses seafarers' rights in the light of international enforcement mechanisms and particularly in the light of the recent ILO Maritime Labour Convention. He also considers relevant case law, as well as advisory opinions and policy statements from various pertinent agencies, especially in the EU context.. Among the issues raised and discussed in depth in relation to their effect on seafarers' labour standards are the following: * ship manning companies; * illicit crewing agencies; * flags of convenience; * hours of work and rest; * wages; * occupational health and safety; * accommodation, food, water, and catering; * recreational facilities; * filing of grievance; and * port controls. The author shows that, expansion and progress of the maritime industry notwithstanding, there is a great need for effective enforcement mechanisms in this area. This is the first detailed analysis to connect the working and living conditions of seafarers with international, supranational, and national maritime legislation. A giant step towards establishing a global monitoring system to enforce international maritime conventions regarding seafarers' labour standards, it is sure to make an important contribution to both international labour and employment law and the law of the sea.

This volume provides a detailed legal analysis of the fourth pillar of the international maritime regulatory regime, the comprehensive Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, and its provisions to achieve decent work for seafarers and a level playing field for shipowners.

With the Maritime Labour Convention now in force (as of August 2013), the shipping industry is faced with a new international convention that has comprehensive implications across all sectors. This vital text provides timely analysis and thought-provoking essays regarding the Convention’s application and enforcement in practice. Hailed as the "Seafarer’s Bill of Rights" and the "fourth pillar" of the international regulatory regime for quality shipping, the Maritime Labour Convention is set to significantly alter the playing field for key stakeholders. This book offers diverse and interesting commentary in respect of the Convention’s impact on core sectors of the shipping industry, identifying both strengths and weaknesses of the Convention, as well as potential hurdles that will need to be overcome. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of the Convention, ranging from individual rights of the seafarer to challenges of flag State implementation. Special attention is given to enforcement through examination of the innovative measures provided in the Convention itself, along with discussion of domestic enforcement mechanisms in certain States. Furthermore, the book evaluates whether the Convention has filled existing gaps in maritime labour law, resolved prior difficulties or created new problems. This book expertly addresses issues of fundamental importance to national authorities, shipping professionals and associations, maritime lawyers and academics worldwide. ---In memory of Richard Shaw---

"Leon Fink, one of the world's best labor historians, has gone to sea and returned with a powerful yarn about the seafaring workers who built the global economy. Vividly told the breathtaking in scope, Sweatshops at Sea will be remembered as one of the most important histories of our time." Marcus Rediker, author The Slave Ship: A Human History. "Sweatshops at Sea is a masterful history that illuminates the issues of citizenship in a world of porous borders for a workforce that has always been both multinational and multiracial. Leon Fink's thoroughly researched, fascinating book provides readers with a fresh and invigorating perspective on globalization."---Nelson Lichtenstein, director, Center for the Study of Work, Labor, and Democracy, University of California, Santa Barbara.

This volume offers a systematic account of the effects of globalization on the shipping industry and seafarers' lives. The seafarers' labor market is changing rapidly and this study discusses the challenges encountered in recruitment practices, trade unions, and collective bargaining, as well as training, certification, and fraudulent certification. Wages, contracts, and tours of duty are also investigated, and the book includes in-depth treatment of seafarer safety and hazard exposure. Innovations such as automated engine rooms and the global maritime distress and safety system, the internationalization of ship registrations, multinational crewing and reductions in crewing levels, and the rise in ship management companies have had a profound effect on seafarers' living and working conditions. This perceptive book examines these and future issues for regulation and enforcement.

This book focuses on contemporary women seafarers at a global level. It looks at issues surrounding the working conditions and welfare of women, from both developed and developing countries, employed aboard the world's merchant and passenger ships. Using research commissioned by the ILO, the book considers women's participation levels in the industry, and examines policies concerning their recruitment, training, maternity and employment rights, and other aspects of work and life at sea. It also gives first-hand accounts from women seafarers describing how they have dealt with discrimination, sexual harassment, parental disapproval and an array of other difficulties.The study examines the practices and policies of national and international regulatory agencies, employers, trade unions, and maritime education institutions. A series of recommendations that may further help the integration of women into shipboard communities is included.

'Voyages of Abuse is a most useful and much needed addition to the ocean literature ... The book is extremely well written and painstakingly documented ... The detailed case histories will shake some consciences.' Elisabeth Mann Borgese, Founder and Honorary Chair for Life, International Ocean Institute, Malta'This book is a fine contribution to the ongoing debate about global governance in shipping and will doubtless help in persuading those who remain opposed to the notion that with flag state rights come flag state responsibilities.' David Cockroft, ITF General Secretary'Professor Couper is well known in maritime circles for his passion and commitment for the welfare of the men and women of the sea. This book is a valuable addition to the cause of seafarers and their human rights. I warmly recommend it to all those who have the wellbeing of the shipping industry at heart.' Rev Jacques Harel, General Secretary, International Christian Maritime AssociationVoyages of Abuse details the deplorable conditions that exist in a minority sector of international shipping operating mainly, although not exclusively, under flags of convenience. In a horrific account of human rights abuses that would be little tolerated in the countries of the shipowners, the authors demonstrate that governments often pay little attention to cases of robbery, abandonment, deprivation and even death perpetrated by these shipowners or on vessels bearing their national flag. The financial and shipping institutions that support substandard shipowners are also prepared to ignore the plight of the individual seafarer serving on the ships under their tenure.The authors draw on case studies to illustrate the issues, including a perspective on Adriatic Tanker Company of Greece and examples of incompetent management and the reckless finance provisions in merchant shipping. The authors also examine the plight of seafarers' families, who are particularly vulnerable, and the legal rights of abused and abandoned seafarers. They conclude by arguing for a global governance of shipping.

This exciting new WMU book series' volume features the first attempt to include detailed experiences of women in the maritime sector at a global level. It highlights the achievement of women in the maritime sector, in particular, women’s leadership and service to the sustainable development of the maritime industry. The volume contains contemporary studies on maritime women and follows an inter-disciplinary approach. It offers an overview of women's integration into the maritime sector since the late 1980s as well as benchmarking its impact on various levels, such as policy, employment, education, leadership and sustainability. Even 20 years after the Beijing Declaration, gender-related challenges at work still remain in the maritime sector, for example, lack of gender policy, difficulty in work-life balance, access to education, and leadership opportunities. The book addresses a series of recommendations that may further help the integration of women into the maritime sector.

Listen to the podcast with Nilufer Oral on 'Climate Change, Oceans and Gender' In Gender and the Law of the Sea a distinguished group of law of the sea and feminist scholars critically engages with one of the oldest fields of international law. While the law of the sea has been traditionally portrayed as a technical, gender-neutral set of rules, of concern to States rather than humans, authors in this volume persuasively argue that critical feminist perspectives are needed to question the underlying assumptions of ostensibly gender-neutral norms. Coming at a time when the presence of women at sea is increasing, the volume forcefully and successfully argues that legal rules are relevant to ensure gender equality and the empowerment of women at sea, in an effort to render law for the oceans more inclusive. See inside the book.