Seafarer minimum wage to increase by more than 6%
The updated wage structure still has to be agreed at the November meeting of the ILO
From January 1, 2026, seafarers will be entitled to a minimum of $690 per month, rising to $715 on January 1, 2028
THE minimum wage for seafarers will increase by more than 6% in the latest wage structure agreed at a meeting of the International Labour Organization’s subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers of the Joint Maritime Commission.
Shipping is still the only industry with a formally recognised global minimum wage structure.
Bipartite dialogue between shipowners and seafarers’ unions is coordinated by the International Chamber of Shipping and the International Transport Workers’ Federation.
The ILO’s 2006 Maritime Labour Convention mandates that the minimum monthly basic wage for an able seafarer be set periodically by the JMC.
The latest three-year structure agreed at the ILO’s Geneva headquarters puts the minimum wage at $690 per month from January 1, 2026, $704 from January 2, 2027 and $715 from January 1, 2028.
That means seafarers will be entitled to 6.2% more per month by 2028 than they are currently ($673 as of January 1, 2025).
ILO director of sectoral policies Frank Hagemann said the agreement “represents more than just a technical adjustment to the minimum wage”.
“It reflects a shared responsibility and commitment to uphold decent work at sea,” he said.
The International Chamber of Shipping said both sides expressed concern “current cloud of uncertainty and the prospect of a potential full-scale trade war, which could divide the world and reshape global trade, with shipping caught in the crosshairs and therefore impacting the lives and livelihoods of the world’s nearly 2m seafarers”.
“We reaffirm that fair trade must also mean fair treatment for those who keep global trade moving,” the chamber said.
But while the agreement remans unique, more consequential will be the collective bargaining negotiations beginning next week in Singapore, International Maritime Employers' Committee chief executive Francesco Gargiulo told Lloyd’s List.
The International Bargaining Forum brings together maritime employers and seafarers’ unions (represented by the ITF) and negotiates wages on board thousands of vessels.
Gargiulo said the ILO minimum wage structure was more of a safety net, only applying to able seamen working 48 hours per week. It is a recommendation that flag states can either adopt or ignore.
“Whilst on the other end, you have a league of responsible employers, which we represent, who’s agreed a much, much, much higher standard, which is actually a fair standard, as recognised by the ITF,” he said.
Gargiulo said whatever was agreed at the IBF in Singapore at the end of the month “would actually hit seafarers’ pockets, the ILO minimum hits nobody’s pockets”.
