The International Labour Organization's Maritime Labour Convention (MLC, 2006) came into force on 20 August 2013, inaugurating a new era of decent work for seafarers and fair competition for shipowners in the global shipping industry. ILO Director-General Guy Ryder calls "on all countries with a maritime interest to ratify – if they have not yet done so – and urge governments and shipowners to work effectively to implement this Convention'. He says... "...Today, the Seafarers bill of rights, as it is often been described, will become a binding international instrument and will apply to ships and seafarers representing nearly 60 per cent of the world's fleet...[The] convention will, in the next year, cover well over 70 % of the world's ships and seafarers.” The MLC, 2006 also has the strong support of the International Maritime Organization...