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.