Oceanskies issued with Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) Statement of Compliance by Lloyd's Register

Oceanskies is pleased to announce that it has been issued with a Statement of Compliance by Lloyd's Register meaning that it is fully compliant with standard A1.4 and guidelines B1.4 of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 ("MLC").

The International Labour Organisation’s MLC provides comprehensive rights and protection at work for the world’s seafarers and will enter force on the 20th August, 2013.

After this date the employers of crew on all commercially operated yachts, i.e. charter yachts, must by international law be MLC certified.

In an effort to help simplify crew employment arrangements on both commercial and privately operated yachts, Oceanskies has developed a unique dedicated offshore crew employment vehicle based on the Channel Island of Guernsey.

The vehicle is known as ‘Oceanskies Crew Limited’ (“OCL”), a Guernsey based limited liability company.

OCL has been established on a clean sheet basis to operate from its inception within the requirements of the MLC environment.

The yacht owner will usually enter into a contract with OCL for the provision of crew employment and payroll services for their yacht.

In cases where a third party yacht manager is involved it is possible to have a tripartite agreement clearly apportioning responsibility between the manager and OCL so that the employment and payroll services can easily be dovetailed into the vessel’s existing management structure.

The yacht owner and/or yacht manager funds OCL on a monthly standing order to cover each crew member’s salary plus costs.

The key advantages of the Ocenaskies crew employment service are as follows:

• Crew are employed by OCL separately from the underlying client and/or the vessel owner. The structure removes the client completely from the liabilities associated with the employment of crew and the onshore reporting requirements linked to the owning of an offshore company.
• OCL is owned by Oceanskies Limited and is not only fully based on the Channel Island of Guernsey but it is also run by genuine Guernsey residents.
• All crew can be employed offshore even when the yacht itself is owned by an onshore company located in a jurisdiction that might not be favourable for the employment of seafarers.
• All crew, regardless of whether they work on a private or commercial yacht, are employed within an MLC compliant environment.
• All crew, regardless of whether they work on a private or commercial yacht, are employed through a Seafarers Employment Agreement (SEA) in line with MLC best practice requirements.
• All crew are employed from Guernsey by a Guernsey based company (i.e. non-EU) without any deductions being made at source in Guernsey for tax or national insurance/social security.
• Oceanskies charges on a fixed fee basis rather than as a percentage of the crewmember’s salary.

Please do not hesitate to contact us to request a free no obligation quotation from Oceanskies to provide a complete non-EU offshore crew employment and payroll service.

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