ClassNK continued to cement its position in maritime manning certification with the issuance of approval for seafarer recruitment and placement service providers in line with the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC, 2006) to Magsaysay MOL Marine, Inc. (MAGMOL). The approval confirms that the Manila-based manning company, a member of the MOL Group, is in conformance with the standards set forth in Regulation 1.4 (Recruitment and Placement) of the MLC 2006 which was adopted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 2006 to help ensure the safety and protect the rights of seafarers.

The MLC 2006 requires that shipowners who make use of seafarer recruitment and placement services in countries or territories that have not adopted the MLC to confirm that their service providers are in conformance with convention standards. The text of the MLC however, does not include set guidelines for confirming such compliance. At the same time, calls for greater professionalism and increased quality are driving the demand for third party certification in the global manning industry.

In order to assist both shipowners and recruitment and placement service providers in their efforts to meet the requirements of the new convention, ClassNK developed a new certification standard, as well as approval procedures for verifying the MLC compliance of seafarer recruitment and placement providers.

An official certificate and declaration of compliance was officially presented to MAGMOL during a special ceremony at the company’s headquarters in Ermita, Manila on 23 November 2011. ClassNK’s Certification Service Department General Manager Takao Kuboki presented the certification to MAGMOL President Captain Francisco D. Menor.

For ClassNK, this approval for seafarer recruitment providers marks its ongoing expansion into the field of quality and training certification. ClassNK Executive Vice President Koichi Fujiwara stated: “The growth and development of the world maritime industry is at the heart of everything we do at ClassNK. In addition to ISO 9001, 14001, and OHSAS 18001, we will continue to develop new standards and provide new tools for the certification of seafarer training, ECDIS courses, and the emerging field of seafarer recruitment and placement, in order fulfill our mission of ensuring a safer and stronger future for the industry.”