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Articles 2–5 and 7 of the Convention. Seafarers’ identity documents. The Committee notes that, in reply to its previous comment, the Government states that the responsibility to issue the relevant regulations will be transferred from the Maldives Transport Authority to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), in accordance with the proposed 6th Amendment to the Maritime Navigation Act, which was submitted to Parliament in October 2021. The 6th amendment will enable the MoTCA to draft regulations, inter alia, to facilitate the implementation of the Convention. The Government further indicates that: (i) a draft regulation for the implementation of certification for seafarers is currently being developed; (ii) the MoTCA is collaborating with the Maldives Immigration to develop a new Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC) that includes biometric features and will have a validity of 10 years; and (iii) the project is expected to be completed in six months’ time. The Committee further takes note of the Government’s request of technical assistance to ensure that the seafarers’ identity document (SID) is compliant with the Convention. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Government has submitted in October 2023 to the Office a specimen of a new SID which, however, is not fully compliant with the Convention. The Committee welcomes the steps taken by the Government and hopes that the necessary measures will be adopted in the near future to issue SIDs in conformity with the Convention.
Article 6. Facilitation of shore leave and transit and transfer of seafarers. The Committee notes the Government’s information that: (i) shore leave is granted to all seafarers for the duration of their stay in the Maldives, if they have a valid passport and CDC and are not flagged by local security forces; (ii) it is at the master’s discretion to send seafarers ashore; (iii) some ports are not equipped with baggage screening, thus seafarers cannot embark or disembark with any type of luggage at those ports; and (iv) following the COVID-19 pandemic, MoTCA issued Marine Circular No. INT-2022/001 of 11 January 2022 to designate seafarers as “key workers” in order to facilitate unhindered movement of seafarers. While taking note of this information, the Committee refers to its previous comments where it noted that a visa is required for shore leave. Recalling that under Article 6, paragraph 4, each Member for which the Convention is in force shall permit the entry into its territory of a seafarer holding a valid SID for temporary shore leave without requiring a visa, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure conformity with this provision of the Convention.

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The Committee notes the Government’s first report on the application of the Convention. It also notes that the 2016 amendments to the Annexes of the Convention entered into force for Maldives on 8 June 2017. The Committee recalls that these amendments aim at aligning the technical requirements of the Convention with the latest standards adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) with respect to the technology for seafarers’ identity documents (SIDs) provided for in the Convention. In particular, they intend to change the biometric template in SIDs from a fingerprint template in a two-dimensional barcode to a facial image stored in a contactless chip as required by ICAO Document 9303.The Committee notes the Government’s information that mechanisms are not yet in place for the issuance of SIDs. Since the ratification of the Convention, the Immigration Authorities have been approached for the design and production of SIDs, but the process has not yet been finalized. While a draft specimen of SID has been developed, the regulations implementing the Convention have yet to be promulgated. The Committee recalls the Resolution adopted by the third meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee of the Maritime Labour Convention, as amended (MLC, 2006), whereby it expressed concern about the difficulties seafarers continue to have in accessing shore leave and transiting in certain ports and terminals around the world and recognized that although an increased number of member States have ratified Convention No. 185, there still appear to be problems in ensuring that the Convention works in the way that it was originally intended. The Committee notes that these problems have dramatically increased by the restrictions imposed by governments around the world to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee hopes that the Government will adopt in the near future the necessary measures to issue SIDs in accordance with the amended version of the Convention. It requests the Government to provide detailed information on such measures, including a copy of the applicable national provisions. The Committee also requests the Government to supply a specimen of a SID compliant with the Convention as soon as it becomes available. The Committee reminds the Government of the possibility to avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office.
Article 6 of the Convention. Facilitation of Shore Leave and Transit and Transfer of Seafarers. The Committee notes the Government’s information that for the purpose of shore leave, seafarers are not required to hold a visa. It also notes, however, that the Government mentions “a shore leave 7 days entry visa” which “only is given to those with identity documents.” The Committee recalls that Article 6 of the Convention provides that each Member for which the Convention is in force shall permit the entry into its territory of a seafarer holding a valid SID in conformity with the Convention, either for temporary shore leave without requiring a visa, (Article 6(4)) or for transit and transfer, in this case supplemented by a passport (Article 6(7)). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on how it ensures compliance with Article 6 of the Convention.
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