Seacurus urges more certainty from flag states on yachting agency responsibilities under MLC 2006

Specialist marine insurance intermediary Seacurus has called for more flag states to establish a process of compulsory registration for all providers of Seafarer Recruitment and Placement Service (SPRS) in the yachting sector.
 
Thomas Brown, managing director of Seacurus, says, “More countries need to follow the initiatives shown by the likes of the UK MCA and France, with the latter making company registration compulsory for SRPSs in the yachting sector. The measures introduced by the French authorities, for example, provide positive clarification for all seafarers placed on board yachts by French yachting agencies. They stipulate that any Yacht Crew Agency (YCA) which operates on French soil under any auspices, and which performs any role at all in introducing a seafarer to employment on a vessel, falls under the requirement to register on the list of yachting SRPSs established in France. But, even then, there do appear to be some grey areas in the national regulations which are leading to confusion in the yachting sector.”
 
The Professional Yachting Association (PYA) recently issued a statement emphasising that there has been ongoing confusion about the status of Yacht Crew Agencies (YCAs) under the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC), which came into effect in August 2013.  PYA says the causes of the confusion have been differences between flag states in interpreting the terms ‘recruitment and placement’, differences between flag states in integrating MLC with pre-existing legislation regarding employment services, and inconsistency among YCAs themselves when operating in the territories of different flag states, especially where one such territory may be a non-ratifying state.

According to PYA, YCAs operating in France need only to guarantee the verification process of the appropriate certification for any position offered on board. They do not need to include any provision for unpaid salaries.

Thomas Brown says, “The French government has established a process of compulsory registration for all yachting SPRSs conducting their business from a French territory. We can only assume that the registration process takes a robust view of the financial wherewithal of the applicant agency, and that the government inspector responsible for the approval of the application would have to be satisfied that the said agency was of sufficient financial standing to assume the liability for any personal financial losses incurred by seafarers they place on board yachts, in accordance with MLC Regulation 1.4 covering Recruitment and Placement. But some YCAs may find it difficult to provide confirmation of the financial standing needed to satisfy the authorities.

 
“Meanwhile, there would appear to be no compulsory requirement for French yachting agencies to demonstrate that they have a system of protection, by way of insurance or equivalent appropriate measure in place as envisaged by MLC Standard A.1.4.5(c) (vi).  Compliance with this regulation would seem to be achieved by agencies demonstrating to an inspector that they are on the new French registry.

“So while the French authorities are to be congratulated for introducing a degree of certainty into their regulation of YCAs and their MLC responsibilities, the fact remains that liability under MLC Standard A.1.4.5(c) (vi) does not disappear simply because the SRPS has satisfied the French regulations. The SRPS still has an exposure to indemnify its seafarers’ financial losses in accordance with the MLC standard, and this is where appropriate insurance cover is invaluable. Such cover is available both to SRPSs operating in domiciles where it is required by the relevant regulatory body. It is also available to agencies in countries such as France that would like to take out the cover voluntarily as either a balance-sheet protection in the event that they have to respond in the event of a yacht owner’s contractual default giving rise to a personal financial loss for a seafarer they have placed at sea, or if needed to enhance the company’s credit rating when applying to become a registered company.

“It was clear from the second meeting of the ILO Special Tripartite Committee meeting held in Geneva in February this year that many flag states are having difficulty in interpreting the requirements placed upon them in respect of MLC Standard A.1.4.5(c) (vi). It is time for greater clarity of the kind shown by the UK and France, but also for greater awareness of the value of MLC insurance coverage which responds in the event of a yacht owners’ contractual default.”

Seacurus Ltd is an FCA-regulated insurance intermediary, founded in 2004, specialising in bespoke revenue protection cover for the maritime industry. It is a market leader in the design and implementation of solutions to protect companies from unforecasted balance-sheet impacts, including credit default, charter party cancellations, hijackings and voyage disruptions caused by political events. Seacurus established the first delegated underwriting binding authority for marine kidnap insurance and is an approved Lloyd’s Coverholder. www.seacurus.com

Formed in 2007, Barbican Insurance Group underwrites business predominantly through its syndicates at Lloyd’s. Barbican’s lines of business include marine, aviation and transport re/insurance, property re/insurance, media and contingency, energy and specialty lines including casualty reinsurance, cyber liability, healthcare liability, financial and professional lines and professional indemnity. 

Barbican also has a non-Lloyd’s financial solutions business based in Guernsey which offers insurance and reinsurance programmes to the global market. It also has a number of subsidiary companies, including Barbican Protect Limited, Castel Underwriting Agencies Limited and Seacurus Limited. www.barbicaninsurance.com

CrewSEACURE launches MLC assistance card to help seafarers in need

Specialist marine insurance intermediary Seacurus has launched a Seafarer Assistance Card scheme to enable seafarers to check for cover and provide timely notification of claims under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006). The cards are personal to the seafarer and are issued by the crewing company when seafarers take up their first position at sea.

 

Seacurus managing director Thomas Brown says, “Under the soon-to-be implemented MLC 2006 amendments, each MLC-compliant vessel will be required to carry a certificate of financial responsibility which provides seafarers with details of the financial protection which the owners have put in place, as well as the details of who to call in the event of a claim. 

 

“The same is not true for crewing companies which, as policy holders, keep the master policy in their office, and evidence of cover is not readily available to the seafarers it serves to protect. In the interests of transparency, we felt it important that seafarers had their own evidence of cover, coupled with user-friendly direct access to the underlying security. 

 

“Time is often of the essence. This is where the Seafarer Assistance Cards perform a vital function. They provide the seafarer with access to the CrewSEACURE web portal to check for cover and help them provide timely notification of claims.”

 

Seacurus manages the financial security requirements for an ever-increasing number of seafarer recruitment & placement services and crew management companies. Thomas Brown says, “We are seeing a number of referrals from flag state inspectors when crewing companies apply for their MLC approvals.  Leading the way with respect to MLC compliance for crew companies are the UK MCA and Transport Canada, both flag state administrations which require crewing companies operating within their jurisdictions to demonstrate that they have in place a system of financial security to comply with MLC2006 Reg. 1.4 which safeguards the financial interests of the seafarers that such companies place at sea.

 

“Seacurus has evolved its CrewSEACURE product range and developed variant wordings to meet these requirements. If MLC 2006 is to fulfil its promise as a seafarers’ bill of rights, it needs the support of products and services which deliver on the intent of the convention.”

 

Full details of the newly developed web portal can be found at www.crewseacure.com

 

Seacurus Ltd is an FCA-regulated insurance broker, founded in 2004, specialising in bespoke revenue protection cover for the maritime industry. It is a market leader in the design and implementation of solutions to protect companies from unforecasted balance-sheet impacts, including credit default, charter party cancellations, hijackings and voyage disruptions caused by political events. Seacurus established the first delegated underwriting binding authority for marine kidnap insurance and is an approved Lloyd’s Coverholder. www.seacurus.com

 

 

Formed in 2007, Barbican Insurance Group underwrites business predominantly through its Syndicates at Lloyd’s. It also has a non-Lloyd’s financial solutions business based in Guernsey which offers insurance and reinsurance programmes to the global market and number of service companies including, Barbican Underwriting Limited, Castel Underwriting Agencies Limited, Professional Indemnity Protect Limited and Seacurus Limited.

Barbican Syndicates at Lloyd’s have a stamp capacity of £260m for the 2015 year of account and underwrite marine, aviation and transport re/insurance, property re/insurance, media and contingency, energy and specialty lines including casualty reinsurance, cyber liability, healthcare liability, financial and professional lines and professional indemnity. www.barbicaninsurance.com

 

 

 

For more information: Thomas Brown Seacurus Limited Tel: +44 191 4690859 email: tbrown@seacurus.com

Concern persists over unpaid wages despite positive MLC enforcement

Specialist marine insurance intermediary Seacurus says that overall confidence in the successful implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) should not conceal the fact that there is continuing concern over the risk of abandonment and the timely payment of crew wages.

Thomas Brown, managing director of Seacurus, says, “Recent figures from the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control indicate that the MLC Convention is being well-enforced, with 113 ship detentions relating to MLC deficiencies recorded since MLC 2006 entered into force on 20 August, 2013.

“Overall, it seems that progress is being made and that MLC can deliver on its promises. But the Paris MoU figures also show that detainable MLC-related deficiencies were most frequently recorded in the areas of ‘payment of wages’ (39.5 percent) and ‘manning levels for the ship’ (28.6 percent).

“Moreover, a survey earlier this year by seafarer website and employment agency Crewtoo appears to bear out the Paris MoU data. Almost half the respondents to the survey, which gathered the views of over 1,000 seafarers, said they had had to wait at some point for delayed wage payments to be made by their employer. The same survey also revealed that 36 per cent of seafarers had been forced to work without pay, while 17 percent had been abandoned.

“Overdue salaries are one of the red-flag indicators of financial distress for shipping companies, and many seafarers are being subjected to undue stress, frustration and uncertainty over wage payments. MLC 2006 states that wages should be paid at least every month, so it is disappointing to see that so many seafarers have experienced delays. There are clearly reasons for concern in this regard.

“It seems that seafarers feel positive about the effect that MLC 2006 is having on their day-to-day existence, reflecting both the spirit and the letter of the convention. Seafarers are aware of the protective systems in place, such as the Seacurus CrewSeacure cover, and are willing to research the subject before sailing. This could be something of a tipping point for the industry. But it is not quite time for pats on the back and high-fives. There are still problems which need to be addressed.”

The latest issue of the monthly ‘Seacurus Bulletin’ can now be accessed on the Seacurus website at http://goo.gl/mxnXFu . In addition to MLC 2006 enforcement news, it includes articles on piracy, the OW Bunker & Trading collapse, and the ban on ransom payments for terrorism.

Seacurus Ltd is an FCA-regulated insurance broker, founded in 2004, specialising in bespoke revenue protection cover for the maritime industry. It is a market leader in the design and implementation of solutions to protect companies from unforecasted balance-sheet impacts, including credit default, charter party cancellations, hijackings and voyage disruptions caused by political events. Seacurus established the first delegated underwriting binding authority for marine kidnap insurance and is an approved Lloyd’s Coverholder. www.seacurus.com

Formed in 2007, Barbican Group Holdings is an insurance group writing business predominantly through its syndicates at Lloyd’s. It also has a non-Lloyd’s financial solutions business based in Guernsey which offers insurance and reinsurance programmes to the global market. Barbican Syndicates 1955 and 6113 at Lloyd’s has a stamp capacity of £227.5m for the 2013 year of account and underwrites cyber liability, financial and professional lines, healthcare liability, international casualty reinsurance, marine insurance, marine reinsurance, North American casualty reinsurance, property, property reinsurance and corporate, middle market and scheme/affinity group clients in the UK and Ireland. www.barbicaninsurance.com

Seacurus says seafarers should be protected now against risk of unpaid wages

Specialist marine insurance intermediary Seacurus says that reported doubts about the insurance industry’s ability to insure the liability for unpaid wages of abandoned seafarers under the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 are inaccurate and ill-founded.

It is already an agreed principle under MLC 2006, which came into force in August 2013, that liability for the unpaid wages of seafarers currently falls to the recruitment and placement services which help seafarers find employment at sea. Some have rightly argued that this is a misdirected arrow and that it is the shipowner/employer, and not the agent, that should assume this liability.

In a positive move, it is now understood that tripartite talks between owners, unions and governments scheduled for April 2014 at the ILO headquarters in Geneva will finally address this issue, with talks set to concentrate on the specific inclusion of unpaid crew wages in the shipowner’s MLC obligation to repatriate crew in cases of abandonment.

Thomas Brown, managing director of Seacurus, says, “It is time for clarity and certainty on this important issue. The fact is that any cover that does not provide for the indemnification of unpaid wages fails to adequately protect seafarers against the real risk of abandonment. Effective employment protection must include crew wages, without which seafarers risk becoming the cashflow casualties of their employers’ insolvencies.

“It has been suggested by some industry commentators that insurance to cover unpaid wages would be unfeasibly expensive for owners, and that in any case it is only those owners who are likely to default who will need the cover. This is wrong on both counts. Firstly, the CrewSEACURE policy launched earlier this year by Seacurus provides comprehensive cover at low cost, with premiums of as little as $50 per seafarer per year available today. Secondly, the point about only bad owners requiring cover in respect of unpaid wages is immaterial, since the proposed requirement for cover will be mandatory on all shipowners. Mandating the requirement in this way will force out of business those owners who - it is claimed - ‘need the cover’, as they will be unable to obtain the requisite financial security called for by MLC.

“If you cannot pay your crew, you should not put your ship to sea, it’s that simple. Any arguments to the contrary would serve to do our industry a disservice. Unfortunately, without the proposed amendments, there is currently no meaningful deterrent to this premise.

“The fact is that affordable cover in respect of the indemnification of unpaid wages is available, and it is available now. It is in the best interests of the industry and seafarers alike that responsible owners support the ratification and early adoption of the draft amendments to MLC in this regard.”

Seacurus Ltd is an FCA-regulated insurance broker, founded in 2004, specialising in bespoke revenue protection cover for the maritime industry. It is a market leader in the design and implementation of solutions to protect companies from unforecasted balance-sheet impacts, including credit default, charter party cancellations, hijackings and voyage disruptions caused by political events. Seacurus established the first delegated underwriting binding authority for marine kidnap insurance and is an approved Lloyd’s Coverholder. www.seacurus.com

Formed in 2007, Barbican Group Holdings is an insurance group writing business predominantly through its syndicates at Lloyd’s. It also has a non-Lloyd’s financial solutions business based in Guernsey which offers insurance and reinsurance programmes to the global market. Barbican Syndicates 1955 and 6113 at Lloyd’s has a stamp capacity of £227.5m for the 2013 year of account and underwrites cyber liability, financial and professional lines, healthcare liability, international casualty reinsurance, marine insurance, marine reinsurance, North American casualty reinsurance, property, property reinsurance and corporate, middle market and scheme/affinity group clients in the UK and Ireland. www.barbicaninsurance.com

Liberia issues first Maritime Labour Convention Certificate

THE Liberian Registry has carried out the first ship inspection for compliance with the ILO Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC), ahead of its entry into force.

The inspection was performed on board the 7,000 teu containership UASC Yanbu, owned by D Oltmann Reederei GmbH & Co KG of Bremen, Germany, and managed by Anglo Eastern Ship Management Limited, at the port of Hamburg on March 29, 2011.

Commending Anglo Eastern Ship Management Limited and the ship’s master and crew for their professionalism in maintaining a high standard of working and living conditions on board the ship, the inspector, Capt Wolfgang Werner, representing the Liberian Registry, recorded no deficiencies, and the Liberian Administration will now issue the Maritime Labour Certificate accordingly.

Liberia led the way in ratifying the Maritime Labour Convention and the administration has professionally trained nearly one hundred of its global network of auditors, located in all major and most minor ports, to provide effective and efficient MLC inspections and verification of Liberian-flag ships.

The Liberian Administration has provided shipowners and operators with detailed guidance on complying with the requirements of MLC. And the registry has received a large number of requests from Liberian-flagged vessels for voluntary compliance with MLC ahead of its entry into force.

To download a photo to illustrate this story, please go to http://picasaweb.google.com/Merlinclients/LiberianRegistry or email chris@merlinco.com

The Liberian Registry is one of the world’s largest and most active shipping registers, with a long-established track record of combining the highest standards for vessels and crews with the highest standards of responsive service to owners. It has recently surpassed all-time tonnage records. www.liscr.com