Question 1

A long-serving crew member asks to be paid partly "off the books" in cash to reduce their tax liability, citing this as common practice on other yachts. How should the Master respond?

Accepted Answer

Decline — wages must be paid in accordance with the Seafarer Employment Agreement and applicable law; facilitating undeclared cash payments can expose the Master, the crew member and the company to legal and tax liabilities, and undermines MLC wage record requirements MLC 2006 requires wages to be paid in accordance with the SEA and properly recorded. Facilitating off-the-books payments — regardless of how common the practice may be informally — creates legal exposure for everyone involved and should be declined.

Question 2

Under UNCLOS Article 98 and SOLAS Chapter V, the Master of a vessel has a legal duty to render assistance to persons found at sea in danger of being lost — including, in many cases, persons attempting an irregular sea crossing. Which statement best reflects how this duty interacts with immigration law?

Accepted Answer

The duty to render assistance to persons in distress at sea overrides immigration status considerations at the point of rescue; the Master must rescue and provide for their safety, while disembarkation arrangements and any immigration questions are a separate matter to be coordinated afterward with flag state, coastal state authorities and the company/DPA The duty to render assistance is a fundamental and near-absolute obligation under UNCLOS and SOLAS, independent of the rescued persons' nationality or immigration status. Disembarkation to a 'place of safety' is a separate, often legally and diplomatically complex question that the Master should escalate to the company/DPA and relevant authorities — but it must never delay or prevent the initial rescue.

Question 3

Under MLC 2006, Regulation 2.3, the minimum hours of rest for seafarers must not be less than 10 hours in any 24-hour period and 77 hours in any 7-day period — and these minimums apply regardless of any contrary clause in the Seafarer Employment Agreement (SEA).

Accepted Answer

True True. MLC 2006 Standard A2.3 sets the floor at 10 hours rest in 24 and 77 hours in 7 days (or, under the alternative formulation, maximum hours of work of 14 in 24 and 72 in 7). These are minimum statutory protections — an SEA or company policy cannot lawfully contract below them, and falsifying rest hour records to mask non-compliance is itself a serious ISM/flag-state and, in some jurisdictions, criminal matter.