Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Seafarers' Identity Documents Convention, 1958 (No. 108) - Türkiye (Ratification: 2005)

Articles 2 and 4 of the Convention. Form and content of seafarer’s identity document. The Committee notes the Regulations on Seafarers (Official Gazette No. 24832 of 31 July 2002) which set out detailed requirements for granting competency certificates to officers and ratings but also provide in sections 74, 78 and 80 for the issuance of seamen’s books. The Committee also notes the specimen seaman’s book provided by the Government in its report. In this connection, the Committee requests the Government to indicate how it is ensured that seamen’s books contain, among other particulars, the seafarer’s physical characteristics, as required by Article 4(3)(d) of the Convention.

Articles 5 and 6. Readmission to a territory and permission to enter a territory. The Committee recalls that, under these Articles of the Convention, the seafarer’s identity document is the sole document needed for the seafarer to enter the country of another State party to the Convention and to return to the issuing State even after expiry. These principles of free admission to a territory (for purposes of shore leave) and right of return are not self-executing but require specific measures by the competent authority for their implementation. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to take the necessary measures in order to fully implement the requirements of Articles 5 and 6 both in law and in practice.

Part V of the report form. Practical application. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is in the process of replacing old seafarers’ identity documents by new ones that are technologically improved and offer advanced safety features. It also notes that 45,000 such documents have already been issued. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply up-to-date information on the practical application of the Convention, including for instance, statistical information on the number of seafarers’ identity documents issued by the Under-Secretariat for Maritime Affairs during the reporting period, extracts from reports of the services entrusted with the enforcement of the relevant laws and regulations, any difficulties encountered in the application of the Convention, etc.

Part VI of the report form. Comments of workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the comments made by the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TÜRK-İŞ) regarding the application of the Convention. TÜRK-İŞ suggests that seafarers’ identity documents currently issued in paper form should be converted to electronic card. It also considers that their validity should be extended to at least five years so as to avoid frequent and lengthy administrative procedure for their renewal. Moreover, TÜRK-İŞ indicates that, in practice, the national identity documents are not accepted in every port and, therefore, the Government should seek ways to render the seamen’s books valid internationally. Finally, TÜRK-İŞ states that there is currently no legal provision guaranteeing permission for a seafarer holding a valid identity document to enter a territory for the purposes of joining his or her ship or transferring to another ship or passing in transit to join his or her ship in another country. The Committee requests the Government to transmit any comments it may wish to make in reply to the observations of TÜRK-İŞ.

Finally, the Committee recalls that the Convention has been revised by the Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003 (No. 185), which was adopted by the ILO to enhance port and border security, while at the same time facilitating the seafarers’ right to shore leave, by developing a more secure and globally uniform seafarers’ identity document. In fact, Convention No. 185 complements actions taken within the framework of the IMO through the adoption of the International Ship and Port-facility Security Code (ISPS), sets out basic parameters regarding the content and form of the documents, and provides technical guidance in the annexes in order to ensure that Members may easily adapt their systems while taking national circumstances into account. The Committee therefore invites the Government to consider the possibility of ratifying Convention No. 185, in the very near future and to keep the Office informed of any decisions taken in this respect.