Established in 2006, the primary goal of the MLC is to be a pillar in the international maritime regulatory framework, establishing a level playing field for seafarers’ working and living conditions. While MLC 2006 is not expected to come into force before December 2011 (based upon the EU’s scheduled ratification of the conventions by the end of 2010), DNV has already worked with some shipowners, including Thenamaris, to develop services for handling the convention, including the development of effective procedures and certification ahead of compliance deadlines. Late last autumn, DNV’s MLC inspectors, headed by Frantziskos Kamizoulis…