INTRODUCTION
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the plight of seafarers to the
forefront of public discourse, so much that over forty Member
States of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) including
Nigeria,1 designated seafarers as key
workers as a means of resolving the crew change crisis. This was
imperative owing to the immense contributions seafarers played in
ensuring international trade was unaffected by the pandemic.
Despite this declaration, the rights of seafarers are still
negatively affected, such as unpaid wages, unfavourable work
conditions, repatriation, annual leave etc., by the activities of
vessel owners.
In this article, we shall discuss the various rights of
seafarers in Nigeria in line with international conventions and
local legislation.
