Member

To reassure the noble Lord on the domestic position, the UK already has a strong framework in place to protect seafarers’ rights. Through measures such as the Seafarers Wages Act 2023, and, more recently, the Employment Rights Act, which will facilitate delivery of a mandatory seafarers’ charter, the UK has taken clear steps to improve working conditions for seafarers and to tackle exploitation in UK waters and ports. These protections apply robustly to UK-flagged vessels and, where international law permits, to non-UK-registered vessels whose place of operation is in UK territorial waters.