Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Seafarers' Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003, as amended (No. 185) - Maldives (Ratification: 2015)

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Articles 2–5 and 7 of the Convention. Seafarers’ identity documents. The Committee notes that, in reply to its previous comment, the Government states that the responsibility to issue the relevant regulations will be transferred from the Maldives Transport Authority to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), in accordance with the proposed 6th Amendment to the Maritime Navigation Act, which was submitted to Parliament in October 2021. The 6th amendment will enable the MoTCA to draft regulations, inter alia, to facilitate the implementation of the Convention. The Government further indicates that: (i) a draft regulation for the implementation of certification for seafarers is currently being developed; (ii) the MoTCA is collaborating with the Maldives Immigration to develop a new Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC) that includes biometric features and will have a validity of 10 years; and (iii) the project is expected to be completed in six months’ time. The Committee further takes note of the Government’s request of technical assistance to ensure that the seafarers’ identity document (SID) is compliant with the Convention. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Government has submitted in October 2023 to the Office a specimen of a new SID which, however, is not fully compliant with the Convention. The Committee welcomes the steps taken by the Government and hopes that the necessary measures will be adopted in the near future to issue SIDs in conformity with the Convention.

Article 6. Facilitation of shore leave and transit and transfer of seafarers. The Committee notes the Government’s information that: (i) shore leave is granted to all seafarers for the duration of their stay in the Maldives, if they have a valid passport and CDC and are not flagged by local security forces; (ii) it is at the master’s discretion to send seafarers ashore; (iii) some ports are not equipped with baggage screening, thus seafarers cannot embark or disembark with any type of luggage at those ports; and (iv) following the COVID-19 pandemic, MoTCA issued Marine Circular No. INT-2022/001 of 11 January 2022 to designate seafarers as “key workers” in order to facilitate unhindered movement of seafarers. While taking note of this information, the Committee refers to its previous comments where it noted that a visa is required for shore leave. Recalling that under Article 6, paragraph 4, each Member for which the Convention is in force shall permit the entry into its territory of a seafarer holding a valid SID for temporary shore leave without requiring a visa, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure conformity with this provision of the Convention.