By Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, Director, International Labour Standards Department, ILO

The highly publicised case of the crew of the 43,866dwt TMT-linked woodchip carrier Donald Duckling, reduced to surviving by catching fish off the side of the vessel as she lay detained in the Port of Tyne, indicated very strongly that the spectre of the abandoned vessel remained a constant during 2013, and is a reality of today’s shipping market which refuses to go away.

Prestige – decision of the national court

The importance that MLC 2006 delivers on its promises to seafarers; the threat of criminalisation; the consequences of crew abandonment; the need to establish enforceable seafarers’ rights at the international and national levels; as well as the need to inform seafarers about their rights; and to provide lawyers with access to legal materials that should assist them when defending the r