As the International Labour Organization (ILO) meets to consider changes to the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), leading maritime charity Stella Maris UK is calling for urgent protections to stop seafarers being forced to choose between shore leave and adequate rest, a decision that no seafarer should have to make.
“This should never be a choice,” said Tim Hill, CEO of Stella Maris UK. “But for many crew, it’s an unacceptable reality. We regularly meet seafarers who are either denied shore leave on vague ‘operational’ grounds, or are too exhausted to go ashore even when permitted.”
A recent International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) report backs up what Stella Maris chaplains and ship visitors witness daily: shore leave is becoming harder to access, and many seafarers are sacrificing it out of necessity – not choice – due to relentless working hours.
In one case, a crew was told not to leave the ship as
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