Section 8(1) in The Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour) Rules, 2016
(1)Every Indian flag ship shall comply with the following requirements regarding seafarers' employment agreement, namely:-(a)seafarers working on Indian flag ships shall have a seafarers' employment agreement signed by both the seafarer and the ship owner or a representative of the ship owner or where they are not employees, evidence of contractual or similar arrangements providing them with decent working and living conditions on board the ship as required by the Act and the rules made thereunder;(b)seafarers signing a seafarers' employment agreement shall be given an opportunity to examine and seek advice on the agreement before signing, and such other facilities as are necessary to ensure that they have freely entered into an agreement with a sufficient understanding of their rights and responsibilities;(c)the ship owner and seafarer concerned shall each have a signed original of the seafarers' employment agreement;(d)the ship owner shall ensure that clear information as to the conditions of the employment is easily obtained on board by seafarers, including the master of the ship and that such information including a copy of the seafarers' employment agreement is accessible to the Director General of Shipping or any other entity so notified including port state authorities in ports to be visited;(e)at the end of, or termination of, contract, every seafarer's continuous discharge certificate shall be endorsed with record of employment on board the ship.
