MPA’s Participation at MLC Seminar in Myanmar organised by the ILO and ITF
In April 2015, MPA was invited by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation to share Singapore’s experience in implementing the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) at the MLC seminar in Yangon, Myanmar. This was with the aim of helping Myanmar to ratify the MLC and for their ships and manning agencies to be MLC-compliant.
MPA was represented by MPA’s General Counsel, Mr Martin Marini, and Mr Desmond Tan from the Seafarers Management Department. Mr Kam Soon Huat, who is one of the MPA’s board members, also represented Singapore Organisation of Seamen (SOS) in the seminar.
Apart from the participants from Myanmar’s local maritime industry and union representatives, there were representatives from Myanmar’s Department of Marine Administration, Ministry of Transport (DMA-MOT) who attended this seminar.
From left to right: MPA representatives, Mr Desmond Tan and Mr Martin Marini, with Secretary of International Transport Federation (ITF) and Myanmar union representatives
Importance of Myanmar’s Efforts Towards Ratifying the MLC
Myanmar is one of the labour supplying countries for the maritime industry, including seafarers on board Singapore-registered ships. During the seminar, it was noted that Myanmar made efforts to ratify the MLC in hopes that Myanmar-flagged ships and shipping employers in Myanmar would eventually operate with employment conditions which matched the international standards.
Myanmar’s ratification may bring the whole South-East Asia region closer to reaching a homogeneous operating environment for shipping businesses, as well as greater certainty on the standards that would be imposed on ships calling at Myanmar and for seafarers joining ships flagged with Myanmar.
Further, if the seafarer recruitment and placement services (SRPS) in Myanmar are operated in accordance with MLC requirements, this would benefit Singapore shipowners who are required to engage SRPS which are compliant with the MLC under Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) Act 2014.
MPA’s Experience
During the seminar, MPA shared that Singapore’s successful tripartite working relationship between Singapore government agencies, shipping industry and seafarer unions was a critical factor in implementing MLC. The seminar also provided MPA the opportunity to strengthen bilateral ties with Myanmar on maritime matters. Overall, Singapore had a positive sharing experience on the importance of MLC to Myanmar and our participation was well-received at the seminar.
Do You Know the MPA staff?
The Singapore Registry of Ships (SRS) is administered by the Registry Department of the Shipping Division of the MPA. Established in 1966, the SRS has over 40 years of experience and is currently managed by the MPA. With more than 4,500 ships that aggregate over 80 million gross tonnes (GT), the SRS is amongst the world’s top ten registries with one of the youngest quality fleets. We would like to introduce the following staff members from the Registry Department:
Ms Vasanthi Jeyabalan is a Management Support Officer (MSO) who has more than 5 years of experience serving in the Registry Department. She joined MPA when she was a fresh graduate from Temasek Polytechnic.
Ms Vasanthi is a welcoming and friendly face of the Registry Department. As a MSO, she provides administrative support to the department. Her duties include processing ship registration applications as well as handling enquiries from the general public on services provided by the SRS.
Her invaluable experience and foresight in anticipating challenges make her a great team player and integral member of the team. Ms Vasanthi believes in the importance of customer service with a touch of empathy. She has been praised by shipowners and managers alike for her hospitality and service with a smile. She also takes pride in her work, ensuring the smooth operations of Singapore ships and that documents are processed in an orderly manner, so as to avoid inconveniences of ships being unduly detained.
Ms Syamim Yahya is the Deputy Manager for the Registry Department. She is part of the dynamic team that oversees the strategic direction, growth and promotion of the SRS. In addition to reviewing policies relating to ship registration, she is also involved in the day-to-day operations, such as managing security-related incidents involving Singapore ships.
Ms Syamim believes in the importance of providing integrated quality service to the shipping community. She played a key role in the planning and implementation of the monthly consolidated billing and the Annual Administrative Fee scheme. Both initiatives were specially designed to increase administrative convenience for shipowners and managers.
One of the perks of her job is being invited to events organised by the shipping industry. She enjoys representing MPA in public events as it allows her to interact with customers outside of work, as well as, gain deeper insights and appreciation of the on-ground problems faced by the industry.