EC PLANS DIRECTIVE TO LIMIT SEAFARERS’ WORKING HOURS

EC PLANS DIRECTIVE TO LIMIT SEAFARERS’ WORKING HOURS

    The European Commission said that it is planning a directive on working time in the maritime sector that would apply to ships of non-European Union countries using European ports.
    The EC said that the directive would extend the scope of another directive concerning seafarers’ hours of work on board ships flying an EU flag.
    Under the new directive, EU member states would police the application of international standards on seafarers’ working hours and would be able to detain ships in European ports.
    Seafarers’ maximum working hours and minimum resting hours, already part of conventions of the International Maritime Organization and the International Labor Organization, were also restricted last year in an agreement between the European Community Shipowners’ Associations and the Federation of European Transport Workers’ Trade Unions.