When a stretch of water is designated a Warlike Operations Area, High Risk Area, or Extended Risk Zone under IBF/ITF agreements, it isn't just a label. It changes your pay, your right to refuse, and your compensation cover. Here's what each one means.
These entitlements apply only where your vessel and contract are covered by the relevant IBF/TCC agreement and the area is formally designated under it. They are not automatic or universal for every seafarer on every ship. Check your own contract and the current designation list below before acting on anything here.
Right to refuse: Yes, where your contract is covered by the relevant IBF/TCC agreement - without risking your employment or facing any other detriment.
If you decline: Repatriation at the company's cost, plus compensation equal to two months' basic wage.
If you proceed: Bonus equal to 100% of your daily basic wage for the ship's stay, minimum five days' pay guaranteed.
Right to refuse: Yes, same as Warlike Operations Area, where your contract is covered by the relevant IBF/TCC agreement.
If you decline: Repatriation at the company's cost, plus compensation equal to two months' basic wage.
If you proceed: Bonus equal to 100% of your daily basic wage, but only for actual time spent transiting or staying, no five-day minimum.
Right to refuse: No, under IBF/TCC Extended Risk Zone terms.
Bonus: Equal to your basic wage, but only payable on a day your vessel is actually attacked.
Extra cover: Doubled death and disability compensation on that day. Captivity from piracy or hijacking carries employment protection regardless of zone.
Which specific waters are currently designated changes over time, areas are added, narrowed, or removed as the threat picture shifts, most recently around the Strait of Hormuz in 2026. Exact terms also vary by which collective agreement covers your contract. The ITF Seafarers site maintains the current, authoritative list, and shows the date it was last updated: itfseafarers.org - IBF Warlike and High Risk Areas.
Every merchant ship sails under the law of one country, its flag state, regardless of where its owner, crew, or cargo are from. The flag state is legally responsible for the ship's safety standards, crew welfare, and investigating incidents aboard. Some flag states run this directly; many delegate day-to-day inspection to a classification society acting on their behalf.
If you have a complaint about conditions aboard, you can raise it with the flag state administration, but you don't have to wait for that route alone: the International Transport Workers' Federation runs a global network of inspectors in ports worldwide who can help with complaints about pay, conditions, or contracts, regardless of which flag the ship sails under.
The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) is the international treaty on seafarers' working and living conditions. It applies to ships flagged in countries that have ratified it. These routes are separate from the IBF/ITF risk designations above.
Ships covered by the MLC, 2006 must have on-board complaint procedures (Regulation 5.1.5). When a ship is in port, a seafarer can also make a complaint to an authorised officer of the port State, who must keep it confidential (Standard A5.2.2). The ILO's MLC FAQ explains the onshore procedure.
Since 18 January 2017, the MLC, 2006 has required ships to have financial security for abandonment (Standard A2.5.2). It covers unpaid wages and other entitlements for up to four months, repatriation, and essential needs such as food, drinking water, clothing and medical care until the seafarer gets home. The ship should carry a document showing that this security is in place. A similar requirement covers compensation for death or long-term disability.
The ILO and the IMO keep a joint database of reported abandonment cases, covering cases reported since 1 January 2004. It is reached from the IMO's seafarer abandonment page.
Sources: IMO, Seafarer abandonment; ILO MLC FAQ; Norwegian Maritime Authority, summary of the 2014 MLC amendments. The four-month and essential-needs details are taken from the Norwegian Maritime Authority's summary of how the MLC rule is applied.
Some of the largest registries by tonnage, linking to each one's official registry site. Not a ranking or endorsement.
Marshall Islands also publishes MARSEC 210, Maritime Security Contacts (January 2025, PDF). It lists reporting contacts by region, including the Gulf of Guinea, the Indian Ocean and Red Sea, Southeast Asia, and the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Contact details can change, so check the current version on the registry site.