Seafarer Employment Agreement (SEA)

Seafarer Employment Agreement (SEA)

Every seafarer working on a UK sea-going ship to which the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Minimum Requirements for Seafarers etc.) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/1613) apply must have a written SEA with the shipowner/employer in respect of the seafarer's work on the ship. 

Guidance on SEA is given in MGN 477 (M) and MIN 529 (M) 

Trainees, whose sole purpose for working on a ship is to receive training, are regarded as seafarers for the purposes of the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Minimum Requirements for Seafarers etc.) Regulations 2014 should have a training agreement with a training provider. That training agreement may be considered to be substantially equivalent to an SEA. 

Guidance on Training Agreements is given in MGN 485 (M).