Dominion Crew Solutions (DCS), part of the ICM group of companies, has successfully passed its MLC Audit. This means the crew employment and payroll services offered by DCS are deemed compliant with new regulations contained in the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) which comes into full force in August 2013.
Simon Roberts, Head of Dominion Crew Solutions, told us why becoming MLC accredited is so important:
“We always knew our company's crew management operations would be perfectly aligned to offer fully compliant MLC crew employment and payroll services to the superyacht industry, however, it was important to achieve accreditation to support that.
With the MLC finally coming into force, seafarers can no longer be employed through an ad hoc offshore accountancy firm or other unregulated entity. The employer must be able to prove it has an efficient and well regulated seafarer recruitment and placement system in place in accordance with regulation A1.4 of the Convention. This also forms part of the yacht’s MLC inspection, during which the Captain must provide evidence to both the Flag State and inspector that the employer conforms to these regulations. Our Certificate of Compliance helps the yachts and their owners to complete this part of the process.
In effect, it is the same as the requirement for a CSP to be licensed by the Financial Supervision Commission. I am proud to say that we are now well placed as the first company in Jersey to have been awarded this certificate. It is a marvellous achievement and is testament to the hard work of our experienced and dedicated team.”
The company’s operations were recently relocated to state of the art premises in Jersey as part of the ICM Group’s new strategic objectives. Significant investment was also made in quality bespoke software, and specific policies and procedures were designed for a smooth transition of the operations to Jersey and also with the MLC accreditation in sight.
The impending MLC consolidates 68 existing maritime labour instruments into one single convention, aiming to ensure seafarers’ rights to decent working and living conditions whilst employed at sea. One of the fundamental requirements of the MLC is that all seafarers working on commercial yachts are given a Flag State and MLC approved Seafarers’ Employment Agreement. This brings maritime employment closer in line with onshore employment.
Simon Roberts added:
“We have worked closely with various Flag State administrations over the last 18 months, including the Isle of Man Ship Registry, to ensure we are ready for the August deadline. We have also made sure our new Seafarer Employment Agreements meet the high standards required by the different Flag States. With over 800 crew under employment with DCS it is paramount we are providing the very best service to both them and the yacht owners. The growth we have enjoyed over the last 6 months would certainly suggest we are doing just that.”
Simon is based on the Isle of Man but works closely with his operational team of five crew employment and payroll specialists located in St. Helier, Jersey. For further information about Dominion Crew Solutions please contact Simon Roberts on sr@i.m or visit the ICM group website www.i.im.
Photo - The Dominion Crew Solutions (Jersey) team with Simon Roberts: L to R Simon Roberts, Shannon Ryan, Paul Bisson, Darla Fraser, Arnaud Floch and Sarah Corbel.
