With the entry into force of the MLC 2006 all private crew manning offices (private recruitment and placement services) must be licensed, certified or otherwise regulated to ensure compliance.

In ratifying states it is the responsibility of the competent authority in the country where these services operate to ensure compliance. For the use of such services in non-ratifying states, the responsibility is placed on the shipowners. The measures to ensure compliance must also be documented in the shipowner’s measures for ongoing compliance, which have to be certified in the DMLC part II. Compliance must also be verified on board, as this is one of the 14 areas where compliance needs to be verified before ships are issued with appropriate statutory certificates.