Luxury charter yacht LEGEND (ex Jamaica Bay) has become the first commercial yacht in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry’s fleet to be awarded certification of compliance with the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006).
The Legend superyacht’s Captain, Egon Viljoen, and Denis Bury of DB Marine Consulting, have been working in cooperation with the RMI Registry and classification society, Lloyd’s Register, to develop and implement the critical elements for compliance with the Convention.
“We have always taken safety into consideration before anything else when managing LEGEND,” said Denis Bury. “Complying with the safety and social provisions of MLC, 2006 was a challenge that we wanted to meet and we are proud to receive this certification in full cooperation with the crew on board, class and the RMI flag State,” continued Mr. Bury.
“LEGEND is a lovely classic gentleman’s motor yacht with a splendid history,” said Captain Egon Viljoen. “When the MLC, 2006 was announced I was very keen to get actively involved in preparing her for compliance. Thanks to her design, excellent support from the
Republic of the Marshall Islands Registry, Lloyd’s Register and our DPA, I found the process very smooth despite no one having done this before with a superyacht. My sincere thanks to all involved,” continued Captain Viljoen.
“The RMI congratulates the crew and management of the LEGEND on their diligent efforts to be in full compliance with the MLC, 2006,” said Marc Verburg, Deputy Commissioner of Maritime Affairs of the RMI.
“Capt. Viljoen did a lot of research and preparation before he contacted the RMI in August to seek MLC, 2006 certification. Due to Capt. Viljoen’s preparatory work, the RMI was able to issue the Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance (DMLC), Part I on 27 September 2012. Following this, Lloyd’s Register was able to inspect and certify the LEGEND on 5 October 2012 and issue a Maritime Labour Certificate,” concluded Marc Verburg.
This is a very large step forward for the yachting industry as a whole, as it provides a useful road map for other commercial yachts to follow prior to the entry into force of the Convention on 20 August 2013.