New crew law makes repatriation the owner's guaranteed bill
Adopted, not yet binding
The International Labour Organization's Special Tripartite Committee agreed the package in Geneva on 7 to 11 April 2025, and the International Labour Conference adopted it formally on 6 June 2025 at its 113th session. Under the convention's tacit-acceptance procedure entry into force is expected on 23 December 2027, the date the West of England P&I Club and the classification societies are working to. Until then, nothing in this round binds a flag state or an owner.
The previous round shows how fast pending becomes billable. Dockwalk reminded crews that the 2022 amendments took effect on 23 December 2024, requiring yachts to update both parts of their maritime labour compliance declaration and to add internet access at fair charges, free food that respects religious and cultural preferences and properly sized protective equipment. Each change of this kind lands, in the end, on the owner who carries the vessel.
The repatriation floor
The headline change fixes what an owner's repatriation duty must cover at minimum: passage to the agreed destination, food and accommodation from the moment the crew member leaves the ship, transport of up to 30 kg of personal luggage, and medical treatment until the seafarer is fit to travel. A companion guideline adds pay and allowances for the journey wherever national law or a collective agreement provides for them.
For yachts over 500gt the financing machinery already exists, and it sits on the owner's side of the ledger. SuperyachtNews notes that those vessels must carry financial security certificates covering prompt repatriation and up to four months of unpaid wages if the owner becomes insolvent or the ship is arrested, and that port state control detains vessels sailing without them. The pending round writes the minimum cost list into the mandatory standard itself.
Where the liability runs deeper
A new standard strips visas and special permits from shore leave, obliges port authorities to give reasons for any refusal, in writing if the seafarer or master asks, and requires owners to let off-duty crew ashore on arrival unless port rules, safety or genuine operational needs prevent it. A companion guideline asks states to treat seafarers as key workers.
The quieter lines carry the sharper exposure. Owners must adopt and enforce policies against shipboard violence and harassment of every kind, including gender-based harassment, bullying and assault, with reporting procedures that protect complainants and whistle-blowers. Provisioning now extends to menstrual hygiene products and the latest International Medical Guide for Seafarers and Fishers. None of this is large in euros. It stays small only for the owner who budgets and documents it before December 2027, rather than meeting it during a detention.
What is good, and what to watch
Strong points
- The financing mechanism already exists for larger yachtsVessels over 500gt already carry financial security certificates covering repatriation and unpaid wages; the 2027 amendments write a defined minimum cost floor into a system owners are already paying into, rather than creating new compliance machinery from nothing.
What to watch
- The liability sits outside standard P&I cover, and that catches owners outIndustry legal commentary is explicit that wage and repatriation liability falls outside a standard P&I policy - an owner who assumes their existing cover already handles this needs a separate financial security certificate verified by the flag state before December 2027, or risks detention.
- No published figure exists for what the new certificate actually costsEvery source checked in this run describes the coverage requirement in detail without naming a premium, so an owner cannot yet budget this line from public information alone.
Practical detail
| The certificate an owner actually needs | From the expected 23 December 2027 entry into force, a yacht over 500gt needs BOTH a 'blue card' (financial security for wages and repatriation) and a 'white card' (P&I liability cover) lodged and verified with the flag administration before the Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance is approved. |
|---|---|
| The insurance gap to check now | Wage and repatriation liability, plus the incidental costs around it, fall outside a standard P&I policy - only injury and death claims are typically covered there. An owner who assumes existing P&I cover already handles repatriation is wrong, and needs the separate financial security instrument in place. |
| Consequence of missing either certificate | Port state control detains a vessel sailing without both certificates, per industry legal commentary. |
| Precedent for how fast pending becomes billable | The prior MLC round was adopted years ahead of its deadline and still took effect on a fixed date, 23 December 2024, requiring updated DMLC declarations, paid crew internet access and religious/cultural food provision from that day, not gradually. |
| What is not published | No source checked in this run gives the actual premium cost of the 'blue card' financial security certificate - that remains a budgeting unknown until an owner asks their P&I club directly. |
Questions this story answers
What happened?
Amendments adopted by the International Labour Conference on 6 June 2025 and expected in force on 23 December 2027 fix an owner's repatriation duty at a defined minimum: passage home, food and lodging en route, transport of 30 kg of luggage and medical care until the seafarer is fit to travel. For an owner it is a new floor under a running-cost line and a fresh piece of legal exposure, both cheaper to plan for now than to meet at the gangway.
What is good about it?
The financing mechanism already exists for larger yachts. Vessels over 500gt already carry financial security certificates covering repatriation and unpaid wages; the 2027 amendments write a defined minimum cost floor into a system owners are already paying into, rather than creating new compliance machinery from nothing.
What should an owner or buyer watch?
The liability sits outside standard P&I cover, and that catches owners out. Industry legal commentary is explicit that wage and repatriation liability falls outside a standard P&I policy - an owner who assumes their existing cover already handles this needs a separate financial security certificate verified by the flag state before December 2027, or risks detention.
Who reported this?
International Labour Organization (Special Tripartite Committee), International Labour Conference, West of England P&I Club, Dockwalk, SuperyachtNews, DNV.
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