Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which employers in the shipping industry may have reduced seafarer welfare standards in the shipping industry to the minimum standards in the Maritime Labour Convention since March 2020 to date.

We work closely with international partners including the International Labour Organisation, industry, and unions to monitor seafarer welfare standards through ongoing dialogue, and to collaborate in enhancing seafarer welfare standards. In July 2022, we published a report on seafarer suicide to support this work. This is in addition to our Nine-Point Plan for Seafarers, which will improve seafarer employment protections and welfare.