# The Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations implement certain amendments of 6th June 2022 made to the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 by making amendments to the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Minimum Requirements for Seafarers etc.) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/1613) (“the 2014 Regulations”).
Regulation 2 amends the 2014 Regulations to—
disapply the application of those Regulations to government ships;
require that, with certain exceptions, social connectivity (internet) facilities are provided in all areas of crew accommodation except ship storerooms;
introduce a requirement that food provided to seafarers is balanced and to clarify that the duty to provide food and drinking water for seafarers only applies during the period of their engagement.
These Regulations also amend various other merchant shipping regulations, using powers in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023, to disapply the application of those regulations to government ships. These amendments are made by regulation 3 and Schedule 1.
Regulation 4 and Schedule 2 amend the Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1104) to insert consequential amendments that are required in respect of relevant instruments included in that Schedule.
The Maritime Labour Convention may be downloaded from the website of the International Labour Organization at https://www.ilo.org/international-labour-standards/maritime-labour-convention-2006. Copies of the MLC may be obtained as a priced publication from www.tsoshop.co.uk, or by post from TSO Customer Services, 18 Central Avenue, St. Andrew’s Business Park, Norwich NR7 0HR, telephone number: +44 (0) 333 202 5070.
A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private or voluntary sector is foreseen.
An Explanatory Memorandum and a de minimis assessment have been prepared and are published alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/260/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/merchant-shipping-maritime-labour-convention-and-miscellaneous-amendments-regulations-2026/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.