The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), on July 30, 2026, notified the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour) Rules, 2026, under the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025, superseding the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour) Rules, 2016. The Rules implement the standards of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) and prescribe a comprehensive framework governing the employment, welfare, working conditions, and social protection of seafarers serving on Indian-registered ships.
The Rules apply to all seafarers and ships registered under the Act, subject to specified exclusions, and prescribe minimum standards relating to minimum age, medical fitness, training, recruitment and placement, seafarers' employment agreements, wages, hours of work and rest, financial security, occupational safety, and protection against violence and harassment. They require ship owners to maintain insurance or equivalent financial protection for contractual claims, execute written employment agreements with prescribed terms, submit such agreements electronically, and ensure their continued validity in cases involving piracy, armed robbery, or detention of the ship. The Rules also prohibit employment of persons below 16 years, restrict night and hazardous work for persons below 18 years, and require wages to be paid at least monthly, with 6% simple interest payable for delayed wage payments.
The Rules further strengthen seafarers' rights by mandating access to collective bargaining agreements, monthly wage statements, mechanisms for remittance of earnings to families, and safeguards relating to compensation, working conditions, and onboard welfare. By aligning India's maritime labour framework with the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, the Rules seek to enhance protection of seafarers, improve employment standards, and ensure compliance with internationally accepted maritime labour obligations.
[Notification No. G.S.R. 695(E)]
