Any contract concluded between a shipowner or his representative and a seafarer, and having as its object service to be performed on board a ship with a view to a maritime expedition, is a contract governed by the provisions below.
The contract for hire of services concluded between a shipowner or his representative and a seaman is governed, outside the seafarer’s embarkation period, by the provisions of each Member State’s Labour Code. However, such contracts are only valid if they are in writing.
With regard to maritime employment, the capacity to contract is subject to the rules of ordinary law.
No person may validly enter into a maritime commitment unless he is free of any previous maritime commitment.
All clauses and stipulations of the seafaring engagement contract must be entered in or appended to the crew list, failing which they are null and void.
The seafaring engagement contract must be drafted in clear terms that leave the parties in no doubt as to their respective rights and obligations.
It must indicate whether the engagement is for a fixed term, an indefinite term or a voyage.
If the engagement is for a fixed term, the contract must indicate this term.
If the employment is for an indefinite period, the contract must specify the period of notice to be observed in the event of termination by either party.
This notice period must be the same for both parties and may not be less than twenty-four hours.
If the engagement is concluded on a voyage basis, the contract must indicate by name, and in sufficient detail, the port where the voyage will end, and fix at what point in the commercial and maritime operations carried out in that port, the voyage will be deemed to have been completed.
In cases where the designation of this port does not enable the approximate duration of the voyage to be assessed, the contract must set a maximum duration beyond which the seaman may disembark at the first port of discharge, even if the voyage has not been completed.
A probationary contract may not be concluded for a period exceeding three months. During this period, the contract may be terminated by either party if the trial is inconclusive, subject to written notification.
In this case, repatriation costs are to be borne by the shipowner, if the seaman is not a national of the country where the contract was signed.
The seafarer’s employment contract must specify the service for which the seafarer has signed up, the function he/she is to perform, the amount of wages and accessories or the basis for determining profits. The place and date of embarkation of the seaman must be in the crew list and the seaman’s professional logbook.
The general terms and conditions of employment must be made available to seafarers by the shipowner.
Under penalty of nullity, the seafarer’s employment contract must be endorsed by the competent maritime authority prior to embarkation. The latter cannot regulate the conditions of engagement. However, it may withhold its approval if the contract contains a clause contrary to the provisions of public policy.
The seafarer’s employment is recorded in the seafarer’s logbook by the maritime authority.
The booklet, which takes the place of a maritime identity document, must not contain any assessment of services rendered.
The text of the legal and regulatory provisions governing the employment contract must, like the text of the contract conditions, be kept on board to be communicated by the captain to the seafarer at his request. The general conditions of employment must be posted in the crew quarters.
Unless expressly provided otherwise, and excluding provisions concerning termination of the contract, the provisions of the law, collective bargaining agreements and customary practices apply to seafarers bound by a fixed-term or voyage contract.
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