Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) has said there have been no reported human rights violations by the Maltese flag state — but there there were still "pressing issues".
The HRAS 2020 Flag States and Human Rights Report said: "There is room for improvement in terms of clear reporting and complaints mechanisms to be made available for seafarers.”
Researchers found that India’s performance had improved each year since it adopted appropriate policy measures but there is still cause for concern.
"While there is a clear political willingness to do better, it is publicly difficult to identify the initiatives and mechanisms put in place to actually improve India’s records on reported human rights abuses at sea," they said.
The report found that the non-payment of wages and abandonment of seafarers are "clearly" the most pressing issues.
Malta's representative at the International Maritime Organization told HRAS: "Malta ensures that ships flying its flag have on-board complaints/reporting procedures that would be accessed by seafarers to report any infringement.
"Furthermore, the administration maintains a constant monitoring programme through its global network of flag state inspectors."
The Indian register did not respond to HRAS.
The report, which also examines the United Arab Emirates, concluded: "In sum, more public policy and legislative development is needed by all three flag states to better improve their working conditions on board vessels under their flag, and to ensure more effective transparent reporting and monitoring mechanisms are put in place."
'Important report'
Professor Rachel Murray, director of the Human Rights Implementation Centre (HRIC) at Bristol Law School, said: "This important report identifies gaps in protection and in so doing enables recommendations to be made for improvement."
Dr Sofia Galani, academic lead and lecturer at HRIC and a board member at HRAS, said the students were given an amazing opportunity to conduct research on the protection of human rights on board vessels.
"We hope that this report will contribute towards improving the lives and working conditions of persons on board vessels," she added.
HRAS chief executive David Hammond said: "This expands on our previous two reports exposing gaps in flag state policy, profiling, implementation and public positioning on the issue of human rights."
