This article reviews the achievements of the recently adopted Convention on Seafarers’
Identity Documents (Revised) 2003, (No.185) adopted by the International Labour
Conference of the International Labour Organization. Convention No.185 constitutes a
pioneering, comprehensive and sophisticated response to security concerns in the modern
world, including the necessary safeguards for individual rights. The objective of the Convention
is to ensure that seafarers can be trusted and their hardship minimized.
(First published in the World Maritime University Journal of Maritime Affairs, 2003, Vol. 2, No. 2. Reproduced with permission)