Labor

The Marshall Islands Registry has expressed concern about the expanding range of pirate attacks off of East Africa.  Notably, the flag is concerned in light of the attack upon their bulker Delvina on November 5, about 25o nm northwest of Madagascar. This location, north of the Comoros Islands, is farther south than other pirate attacks have typically occurred.

The Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping (STW) has approved amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (The STCW Convention) and its associated Code for submission at a Diplomatic Conference meeting in Manila, Philippines, June 21-25, 2010.

The United Kingdom's flag may lose several hundred ships if the government passes a law requiring ship owners to pay all crew members working on UK-registered ships serving UK ports, including foreign sailors, the required national wage rate.

Two U.S. Navy Warships successfully thwarted the seizure of Ethiopian vessel Andinet off the coast of Yemen by pirates, CNN reports today.