Ships could be detained for failing to pay seafarer wages and wider contract failures during a three-month inspection campaign at ports in Europe and Asia.

Two of the 10 port state control regimes, Paris and Tokyo, said a crackdown will begin on 1 September to ensure the rights of seafarers are not being abused.

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Seafarers must have seafarer employment agreements that cover wages, paid leave and entitlement to repatriation from an overseas port.

The rules, known as the bill of rights for seafarers, are enshrined in the Maritime Labour Convention, which came into force in 2013.

The convention has been ratified by more than 100 countries, representing more than 96% of the world’s gross tonnage, but another 80 have not signed up to it.

These countries include some states where the MLC is not enforced by PSC, Seafarers’ Rights International said.

A report by the group published in June said there was a significant problem with unpaid wages. A substantial number of states were not fulfilling their responsibilities for abandoned seafarers, it said.

A total of 132 ships were abandoned in 2023 — up 11% on the previous year — with the hundreds of seafarers affected owed millions of dollars, according to the International Transport Workers’ Federation.

The Paris MoU, led by secretary general Luc Smulders, said that the new campaign, during regular inspections, would examine specific areas related to crew wages, employment agreements and the responsibilities to repatriate crew. A ship would have only one inspection on the issue during the campaign.

It said that worst cases could see a ship detained “until the serious deficiencies have been rectified or until the port state has accepted a proposal for a plan of action”.

The results of the campaign will be assessed by the two PSC regimes and possibly submitted to the International Maritime Organization.

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