• Kingdom: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

• Law: Labor Law issued by Royal Decree No. M/51 dated 23/8/1426 AH and its amendments.

• Implementing Regulation: The Implementing Regulation of the Law and its amendments.

• Regulation: Maritime Labor Regulation.

• Ministry: Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

• Minister: Minister of Human Resources and Social Development.

• Maritime Authority: Transport General Authority.

• Maritime Service Record: An official document issued by the competent maritime authority to the sailor or trainee who meets the professional and health conditions to work or train on board ships, proving the identity of the ship's crew members, their professions, and maritime services.

• Ship: Any floating facility flying the Saudi flag prepared for work in maritime navigation in the usual manner, conducting commercial activities, and the ship's accessories necessary for its exploitation are considered part of it.

• Marine Unit: The floating facility exempted from registration and registered according to the registration procedures in the Kingdom.

• Marine Platform: A marine facility used for extracting oil, gas, or other resources, and is considered equivalent to a ship.

• Foreign Ship: Any ship flying the flag of a state other than the Kingdom prepared for work in maritime navigation.

• Owner: The person who operates the ship or marine unit for his own account as an owner, lessee, or co-ownership manager, and the owner is considered the owner unless proven otherwise.

• Maritime Work Contract: The work contract concluded between the ship owner or its owner or a representative of either and any person to work on board the ship for a wage.

• Captain: The person qualified to command the ship and responsible for its management.

• Chief Officer (First Officer): The officer next in rank to the captain who is responsible for commanding the ship in case the captain is unable to do so.

• Sailor: The person bound by a maritime work contract, and the captain is considered a sailor concerning the maritime work contract concluded between him and the owner.

• Sailor Recruitment and Employment Department: Any natural or legal person who recruits sailors on behalf of an owner or employs them.

• Ship Security Officer: The person responsible on board the ship before the captain for the security of the ship.

• Maritime Work Certificate: A document issued by the maritime authority for Saudi ships proving the ship's compliance with the regulation requirements.

• Qualification Certificate: The certificate issued or approved by the maritime authority indicating that its holder meets the requirements and conditions qualifying him to work at sea on board ships and marine units.

• Competency Certificate: The certificate issued to the captain, chief officer (first officer), deck officer, chief engineer officer, second engineer officer, third engineer officer, electronic technician officer, and radio operator officer (GMDSS), pursuant to the provisions of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers of 1987.

• Port Authority: The competent authority of any of the Kingdom's ports.

• Safety Management System: A structured and documented system that enables company employees to effectively implement the company's policy in the fields of safety and environmental protection.

• Committee: The committee formed pursuant to Article (38) of the Implementing Regulation concerned with considering objections to administrative decisions and reviewing requests for settlement of violations submitted by violators.

The regulation aims to organize maritime labor relations and regulate decent working and living conditions on board ships, marine units, and offshore platforms engaged in commercial activities, as well as to define the obligations and rights of the shipowner and seafarers, and the duties and responsibilities of each without discrimination among them, and to monitor the implementation of its provisions.

• 1- This regulation applies to the employment relationships of seafarers on all Saudi ships, marine units, offshore platforms, and foreign ships authorized to operate within the maritime areas of the Kingdom.

• 2- The provisions of the law, its executive regulation, and the decisions issued in implementation thereof apply to everything not specifically addressed in this regulation.

• 3-International agreements, laws, and related regulations, according to their latest amendments in force in the Kingdom, are considered complementary and supplementary to this regulation and apply to matters not specifically addressed in this regulation.

• 4- The following seafarers are exempt from the provisions of this regulation:

  • A- Pleasure ships prepared for private use without charge.

  • B- Marine units prepared for private use.

  • C- Warships and military supply ships.

1- It is not permissible to employ any person under the age of (18) years.

2- It is permissible to train persons who are (16) years of age or older.

• Without prejudice to the law and the implementing regulation, maritime training shall be as follows:

  • 1- The outfitter must prepare a training program for the trainee according to the standards and general rules specified in the law and the implementing regulation.

  • 2- It is required for training persons under the age of eighteen to have completed the mandatory basic courses according to the requirements of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) of 1978 and its amendments.

  • 3- The trainee is subject to a training program on the rights and duties of the seafarer.

  • 4- The outfitter must provide Saudi students with the opportunity to train to gain experience and receive appropriate training.

  • 5- Working seafarers must provide guidance and education to trainees without compromising the tasks assigned to them.

  • 6- Trainees shall receive a monthly stipend according to the regulations of the entity operating the ship, marine unit, or offshore platform during their training period.

  • 7- It is not allowed to train persons - unless under the responsibility and supervision of the captain or one of the seafarers assigned by the captain - to perform the following tasks:

    • A- Lifting or moving heavy loads or objects.

    • B- Entering tanks or confined spaces.

    • C- Operating lifting equipment, machinery, and non-manual equipment, or working as guides for operators of this equipment.

    • D- Using mooring ropes, towing ropes, or mooring winches.

    • E- Working in high places or on the ship's deck in severe weather conditions.

    • F- Night shift duties.

    • G- Maintenance of electrical equipment.

    • H- Any work that may involve exposure to hazardous materials.

    • I- Using or taking responsibility for lifeboats or rescue boats.

• 1- The operator must organize the working hours and rest hours for seafarers in accordance with the Safety Management System under the following options:

  • A- The maximum working hours shall not exceed fourteen (14) hours in a twenty-four (24) hour period, and seventy-two (72) hours in a seven (7) day period.

  • B- The rest hours shall not be less than ten (10) hours in a twenty-four (24) hour period, and seventy-seven (77) hours in a seven (7) day period.

  • C- Rest hours shall not be divided into more than two periods, provided that the length of one of these periods is not less than six (6) hours, and the interval between two consecutive rest periods shall not exceed fourteen (14) hours.

• 2- A seafarer may be assigned additional working hours, and working hours exceeding those specified in paragraph (1) of this article shall be counted as overtime, in the following exceptional circumstances:

  • A- Emergency situations, including circumstances where the safety of the ship and its navigation, or the marine units, offshore platform, or any person on board or its cargo is at risk.

  • B- Providing necessary assistance to another ship, marine unit, offshore platform, or any person at sea;

  • C- Essential work on board the ship, marine unit, or offshore platform that cannot be delayed for safety or environmental reasons.

  • D- Force majeure circumstances.

• 3- Without prejudice to the scheduled supervision duties under the shift system and the training program for trainees, the working hours of trainees under eighteen (18) years of age shall not exceed eight (8) hours per day and forty (40) hours per week, and during the training period, they must have a rest break of not less than one hour for the main meal and fifteen (15) minutes rest after every two (2) continuous hours of training.

• 1. Without prejudice to the provisions of the law and the implementing regulation, the outfitter must, when contracting with any sailor for work, conclude a maritime work contract with him in accordance with the provisions of the regulation.

• 2. The maritime work contract must specify the capacity in which the sailor will be appointed, whether for a fixed-term contract or for a single voyage only or for a certain number of voyages.

• 3. Every sailor must possess a maritime service record.

• 4. The maritime work contract must be written in three copies, with one copy provided to the outfitter, one copy to the captain to be kept on board the ship or marine unit or offshore platform, and one copy to the sailor. It must be electronically documented through the platform approved by the ministry, and the contract is considered valid even if it is not written. In this case, the sailor alone may prove the contract and his rights arising from it by all means of proof, and either party may request the contract to be written at any time, provided that the maritime work contract includes the following data:

  • A- Date and place of contract conclusion.

  • B- Name of the ship or marine unit or offshore platform.

  • C- Name of the outfitter or the company operating the ship or marine unit or offshore platform and its address.

  • D- Name of the sailor, his title, date of birth, nationality, personal passport number, and address.

  • E- Type of work the sailor is committed to perform or the capacity in which he will be employed.

  • F- Amount of wage and the currency used for its calculation.

  • G- Duration of the contract if it is not determined on the basis of the voyage.

  • H- Termination of the contract and its conditions.

  • I- Amount of paid annual leave.

  • J- Health benefits that the outfitter must provide to the sailor.

  • K- The sailor's right to repatriation.

• 5. If the contract is concluded for a single voyage or several voyages, it must specify the name of the port or marine station from which the voyage begins and the name of the port or station where the voyage ends, and at any stage of the commercial and maritime operations conducted at that port or marine station, upon completion of which the voyage can be considered ended.

• 6. The outfitter must inform the sailor within a reasonable period not less than five (5) days of the expected date, time, and place for boarding the ship or marine unit or offshore platform, except in cases of emergency and necessity, provided that the outfitter provides the necessary means to enable the sailor to respond to the notification.

• 7. The maritime work contract shall be in Arabic with a version available in English on board the ship or marine unit or offshore platform.

• 1. Without prejudice to the provisions of the Law and the Implementing Regulation, the maritime work contract ends for one of the following reasons:

  • A- By the expiration of the duration of the maritime work contract, or by the end of the agreed voyage, and if the maritime work contract ends during the voyage, the outfitter is obligated to return the sailor to the port from which he traveled, bearing the cost of his food and accommodation until he reaches that port.

  • B- By the will of one of the parties in contracts of indefinite duration based on a legitimate reason according to the reasons mentioned in the Law, and the party wishing to terminate must send a written notice to the other party before termination within the period specified in the Law.

  • C- By the damage to the ship/marine unit/offshore platform or the official inspection of its unseaworthiness or the withdrawal of its license or its seizure.

• 2. The outfitter is obligated upon the termination of the work contract to:

  • A. Provide the sailor - upon his request - (Service Certificate) free of charge, indicating the date of his joining, the date of the end of his relationship with him, and the type or nature of work on board the ship/marine unit/offshore platform, and the outfitter may not include in the certificate anything that may harm the sailor's reputation or affect his wage or his obtaining future job opportunities.

  • B. Return to the sailor all the certificates or documents he deposited with him.

• 5- If the contractual relationship ends, the outfitter must pay the sailor an end-of-service gratuity in accordance with what is stipulated in the Law.

• 6- If the contract does not include a specified compensation upon its termination by one of the parties for an illegitimate reason, the aggrieved party is entitled to compensation in accordance with what is stipulated in the Law.