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The MLC 2006 convention which came in force on 20/08/2013 is presented as the fourth pillar of the International Maritime Convention together with SOLAS, STCW and MARPOL (ITF Official website, n.d).

The MLC is applicable to all ships and crew excluding fishing vessels, traditional built vessels, warships and naval auxiliary vessels (ILO Official website, n.d). The convention set international standards regarding the living and working conditions of the seafarers. MLC 2006 implementation, provides international bill of rights for every seafarer (ILO, Maritime Labour Convention 2006 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Online revised ed. 2012 p.3), in addition, ratifying states of the MLC 2006, ensure that proper living conditions, safe working environment and proper compensation is granted for the crewmen onboard ships. the Convention through Regulation 5.1.5, instructs member states, to develop on board complaint procedures, where seamen will have a more active role on reporting breaches of their rights, according to the MLC 2006 Convention (ILO, MLC 2006 pp. 84-85).

Finally, the ILO has instructed Flag States to establish a strict certification and inspection procedures, for ships to demonstrate that they are in compliance with the MLC 2006 Convention (ILO, MLC 2006 Regulation 5.1.1 pp.73-74). During their certification procedure, ship-owners / ship operators are requested to provide objective evidence that comply with the titles and applicable provisions & regulations of the MLC 2006. Therefore, MLC 2006 secures crew's welfare and protects them from exploitation raising ship-owner's attention regarding their obligations and requests the provided evidence to be reviewed and approved by the applicable Flag Administration Authority...

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...ty and environmentally related concerns and provide case study analysis on several incidents in order their members are informed and avoid re-occurrence in the future. Finally, most of the P&I clubs perform ship inspections (UK P&I Club Official Website, n.d.) in order to establish the safety level onboard a member’s ship and identify if there are any practices that are followed which could lead to a possible claim.

However, the role of the P&I clubs in relation to the promotion of quality shipping (Bennett, 2001) has been challenged mainly due to the fact that P&I clubs are closely related to ship-owners and they are not able (P&I Clubs) to apply strict regulatory compliance. According to Bennett (2001) the relation between the P&I clubs and ship-owners is the fact that the ship-owners who happen to be members of the P&I club are also their bosses (Bennett, 2001).

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