What is the MLC Contract Check?
The MLC Contract Check is a free online seafarer contract checker that reviews a Seafarer Employment Agreement (also called an SEA or sign-on contract) before you sign it. It examines the contract wording against selected requirements of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, current ITF employment standards and supported flag-state rules, then returns a color-coded report that highlights compliant clauses, unclear language and possible missing protections. Your document is processed once and not stored. It is an automated informational review, not legal advice.
Check your seafarer contract before you sign it
The worst place to read a seafarer employment agreement is the manning agency desk, ten minutes before you leave for the airport, pen already in hand. The second worst place is on board, months later, when the clause you skipped decides who pays for your flight home.
This tool exists for the moment before that. Pick your situation, pick the flag the ship flies, and upload your sign-on contract as a PDF or a phone photo. The check reads it clause by clause against the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC 2006) and ITF standards, then returns a color-coded report. Green where the wording protects you. Amber where it is vague. Red where a core protection is missing or signed away.
How to use the MLC Contract Check
Three steps, about two minutes, no account. Crews call it the seafarer contract check, the seafarer contract checker, the MLC contract checker or the SEA check. Same tool, one URL.
- Pick the flag. The flag the ship is sailing under is on the stern, on the ship's certificates, or in your contract. If you do not know it yet, pick MLC only; the check then runs against the convention baseline.
- Add your contract. Upload the PDF, drop in photos of the pages, or paste the text. Photos get a clean scan look on your device first, and camera data including GPS is removed before anything is sent. Nothing leaves your phone or laptop until you press the button.
- Check my contract. The report comes back in about a minute: clause by clause, green, amber, red or missing, with the MLC standard behind each finding, your red flags and the escalation path. Save it as a PDF and take it to the crewing office.
Why the flag matters
Every supported flag has its own page with the authority, the governing law, the MLC complaint contact and the SEA checklist: all flag states, or directly Liberia, Panama, Marshall Islands, Bahamas, Malta, Italy, Bermuda, Hong Kong, Singapore, Netherlands, Germany, Cyprus, Portugal (Madeira / MAR), Antigua and Barbuda, Norway (NOR / NIS), Greece, Cayman Islands, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, United Kingdom, Denmark (DIS), France (RIF), Spain (Canary REC), Croatia, Curacao, Barbados, China, Japan, South Korea.
The ship's flag state is central because it implements and enforces the MLC aboard vessels flying its flag. Not your home country, and not the company's office address. The MLC sets the floor; depending on your agreement, national law, a collective bargaining agreement and the contract's own choice-of-law clause can apply on top of it. Liberia, Panama and the Marshall Islands alone fly almost half the world fleet. Cruise crew mostly sail under the Bahamas, Malta, Italy, Bermuda or Panama flag. That is why the check asks for the flag: it tells you which administration is responsible for your contract and exactly where to send a complaint, from the Liberian Registry to Panama's AMP to Transport Malta to BG Verkehr under the German flag.
What the check reads in your sign-on contract
- Basic wage. Compared against the ILO minimum for an able seafarer: USD 690 per month from January 1, 2026, agreed by the ILO Joint Maritime Commission. Many ITF collective agreements pay well above it.
- Hours of rest. Minimum 10 hours in any 24-hour period and 77 hours in any 7-day period under MLC Standard A2.3. A contract that is silent on rest hours is not a formality problem. It is how fatigue gets legalized.
- Repatriation. The flight home is the shipowner's cost under Standard A2.5. Any clause that makes you pay, or deducts it from wages, fails the check.
- Medical care. Sickness and injury cover under MLC Regulation 4.2, on board and ashore.
- The rest of it. Paid leave (2.5 days per month, Standard A2.4), overtime rates, notice periods, recruitment fees (you pay none, Standard A1.4), and whether a collective agreement covers you.
When something is already wrong on board
If you are past signing and in a dispute, the report becomes your evidence list: it names the clauses that support your complaint and cites the exact MLC provision for each. The escalation path is always the same ladder. Supervisor, then the master through the on-board complaint procedure, then the DPA and the company, then the flag state, then Port State Control in the next port, then an ITF inspector. The MLC forbids any victimization for complaining. "Please correct clause 9, MLC Standard A2.5 puts repatriation on the shipowner" is a conversation. "This feels unfair" is not.
Standards and methodology
- MLC source. Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended (ILO). Every finding cites the specific Regulation or Standard it rests on.
- Wage benchmark. ILO minimum basic wage for an able seafarer, set by the ILO Joint Maritime Commission: USD 690 per month from January 1, 2026, USD 704 from 2027, USD 715 from 2028.
- ITF source. Current published ITF seafarer employment guidance and CBA benchmarks.
- Flag-state information. Twenty-nine registries with authority, governing law and complaint contact, each verified against the official registry or administration website (eleven on July 15, 2026; six more on August 7, 2026; the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Spain, Croatia, Curacao and Barbados on August 29, 2026; China, Japan and South Korea on September 1, 2026).
- Last legal-content review. July 2026.
- Scope. Automated informational review of the uploaded wording only. Not legal advice, and no statement about any company.
- Escalation. ITF, your union, the flag administration or a qualified maritime lawyer.
Full methodology, per-rule sources and the update history are documented at /methodology-and-sources.
Questions crews actually ask
Is my seafarer contract fair?
If it meets the MLC minimums on wages, rest, leave, repatriation, and medical care, and does not make you waive collective agreement coverage, it is fair on paper. The check tells you which of those hold in your document.
How do I check my seafarer contract before signing?
Read the wage, rest hours, repatriation and medical clauses before anything else, and compare them against the MLC 2006 minimums. This tool does that clause by clause: pick your situation and flag, upload the contract, and you get a color-coded report with the exact provision behind every finding.
What is the minimum wage for seafarers in 2026?
The ILO minimum basic wage for an able seafarer is USD 690 per month from January 1, 2026. It rises to USD 704 in 2027 and USD 715 in 2028. A CBA can and often does set more.
What are the legal rest hours on a ship?
Under MLC Standard A2.3 you are entitled to at least 10 hours of rest in any 24-hour period and 77 hours in any 7-day period. The rest may be split into no more than two periods, and one of them must be at least 6 hours long.
Can my employer make me pay for my flight home?
No. Under MLC Standard A2.5 repatriation is at the shipowner's cost. A clause that charges the flight to you or deducts it from your wages is a red flag, except where a seafarer is found in serious default of their obligations.
Who pays if I get sick or injured on board?
The shipowner. MLC Regulation 4.2 and Standard A4.2 make the shipowner liable for medical care for sickness and injury occurring during service, on board and ashore.
Do I have to pay agency or placement fees?
No. Under MLC Standard A1.4 the seafarer pays no recruitment or placement fees. You cover only your own statutory documents, like the medical certificate and seafarer's book.
Who do I complain to if the company ignores me?
The flag state administration, Port State Control in your next port, or an ITF inspector. The tool shows the right flag authority with contact details after your check.
Which flag states are currently supported?
Twenty-nine registries have verified modules: Liberia, Panama, the Marshall Islands, the Bahamas, Malta, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Portugal (Madeira/MAR), Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, the United Kingdom, Denmark (DIS), France (RIF), Spain (Canary REC), Croatia, Curacao, Barbados, China, Japan and South Korea: together most of the world fleet, nearly all cruise tonnage and the largest yacht registry. For any other flag the check still runs against the full MLC 2006 baseline; only the flag-specific authority contacts are omitted. Missing your flag? Tell us in the feedback box.
What are common seafarer contract red flags?
The ones we see most: a basic wage below the ILO floor, silence on rest hours, repatriation charged to you or deducted from wages, medical costs shifted to the seafarer, recruitment or placement fees, and clauses that waive collective agreement coverage or the right to complain. Any one of these turns the verdict red in this check.
Does the checker work for cruise ship crew contracts?
Yes. Cruise crew agreements are checked against the same MLC 2006 standards, and the biggest cruise flags (the Bahamas, Malta, Italy, Bermuda and Panama) all have verified flag modules with the right complaint contacts. Pick the flag on the ship's stern, not the company's brand.
Does the check store my contract?
No. The reading is done by an AI language model via the Anthropic API. The file is transmitted encrypted, processed once for the analysis, not stored, and not used to train the model. Document content is never logged.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is an automated reading of the document wording. For a dispute, or if you are being pressured to sign, contact the ITF or your union.