Duty on shipowner in respect of recruitment and placement services
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(1) A shipowner must not use a recruitment and placement service to recruit a person as a seafarer to work on board a ship unless it is a service falling within paragraph (2). (2) A recruitment and placement service falls within this paragraph if it— (a) is based— (i) in the United Kingdom; (ii) in a country which has ratified the MLC; or (iii) in a country to which another country's ratification of the MLC has been extended; or (b) is based in another country and conforms to the requirements relating to recruitment and placement services referred to in paragraph 5 of Standard A1.4 of the MLC, whether or not those requirements are obligations under the law of the country in which it is based. (3) A breach of paragraph (1) is an offence by the shipowner. (4) In this regulation, “ recruitment and placement service ” means any person or organisation which is engaged in recruiting seafarers on behalf of shipowners or placing seafarers with shipowners.