Driving out illegal fees

Unlawful recruitment fees continue to burden seafarers despite existing protections

By Francesca Fairbairn

Illegal recruitment fees remain a widespread problem in the maritime industry, leaving many seafarers facing significant financial hardship and raising concerns about worker welfare, recruitment practices and onboard safety. Despite international rules prohibiting most employment-related charges, recent research suggests the practice remains common across the global shipping workforce.

Under the ILO’s Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006, seafarers should not be required to pay for securing employment, with limited exceptions such as obtaining a passport, seafarer’s book or national medical certificate. However, joint research conducted by the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) and TURTLE found that 31% of surveyed seafarers had been asked to pay recruitment-related fees, and nearly three-quarters of those approached ultimately paid them.

The charges reportedly take many forms, including payments to secure employment, as well as costs linked to travel, accommodation, uniforms and personal protective equipment. In some cases, seafarers reported paying more than $10,000 to obtain a single position. Lower-ranked crew members were found to be less likely than officers to refuse such demands.

The research also highlighted a lack of reporting. According to the findings, 80% of affected seafarers did not report the incident, often because they were unaware the practice was illegal, did not know where to raise concerns, or believed reporting would not lead to change.

Beyond the financial impact, the study pointed to wider welfare implications. Among respondents who had paid fees, 73% reported negative mental health effects, including anxiety, depression and sleep disturbances, raising concerns about the potential implications for wellbeing and safety at sea.

Identify and eliminate
Against this backdrop, IHRB and TURTLE have launched a new online toolkit intended to help maritime employers identify and eliminate illegal recruitment fees within their operations and supply chains. The resource provides guidance on due diligence processes and outlines which costs employers are required to bear under the MLC framework.

While primarily aimed at employers, the toolkit also includes information for seafarers on recognising potentially unlawful charges and routes for reporting concerns. It directs workers towards unions, employers, flag and port state authorities, and organisations including the ITF, Mission to Seafarers and ISWAN’s SeafarerHelp service.

This toolkit forms part of a broader industry effort involving organisations including Mission to Seafarers, ITF, ISWAN and the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network, which are undertaking related initiatives focused on awareness, recruitment practices and government engagement.

Isabelle Rickmers, CEO and founder of TURTLE, frames the issue as a threat to the industry’s own talent pipeline: “You cannot solve a talent shortage with an industry that charges people to enter it. Illegal recruitment fees do more than break the law, they poison the very entry point our industry most needs to protect.”

No worker should face the scourge of recruitment fees. Yet these fees are putting a heavy burden on the seafarers who transport our goods and keep 90% of the world’s trade running. Seafarers deserve better, and the TURTLE tool is here to help. The toolkit was produced with TURTLE and the Rafto Foundation, with funding from The Seafarers’ Charity, the TK Foundation, the ITF Seafarers’ Trust and the Swiss government.

Francesca Fairbairn is shipping lead at IHRB. The resource can be found at https://responsible-maritime-recruitment.ihrb.org/