🇨🇰 Cook Islands
ISO COK / CK
Regulatory
- MLC 2006
- not-ratified
- Paris MoU rating
- not-listed
- Tokyo MoU rating
- grey
- USCG Qualship 21
- not listed
- ITF FoC
- listed as Flag of Convenience
Registry
- Vessel count
- 200
- Deadweight
- 3
- Administration
- Cook Islands Maritime Administration
- File a complaint
- Official form
Pacific island open registry [Round Z-C3] complaint_url backfilled — where the flag has no dedicated MLC complaint page, points to ILO NORMLEX C186 database as fallback.
Compliance history
- Tokyo MoU
This page could not be found. Maybe try a search?
ページが見つかりませんでした - Tokyo MOU - ILO NORMLEX
ILO is a United Nations Agency
Ratifications of ILO conventions: Ratifications for
What this means for seafarers
- MLC 2006: This flag has not ratified MLC 2006. Port-state-control inspections still apply at MLC ports under "no more favourable treatment", but the flag itself issues no MLC certificate.
- Port-state-control profile: intermediate performance — selective targeting. Read about PSC regimes →
- ITF Flag of Convenience: This flag is on the ITF FoC list. ITF Total Crew Cost (TCC) scale applies as the wage floor. Contact an ITF inspector at the next port if your contract is below TCC. Unpaid-wages route →
- STCW: Party to STCW. Verify a CoC issued under this flag at the administration.
See also: flag risk explained · MLC ratification list · white/grey/black lists.
Reference
- III Code — the IMO flag-state audit scheme measuring implementation of IMO instruments.
- Port state control — how Cook Islands-flagged ships are inspected + detained in foreign ports.
- Minimum safe manning — the SOLAS V/14 basis for Cook Islands's manning documents.
- Marine cyber incidents — case studies + the IACS UR E26/E27 cyber-resilience regime.
Ships flying Cook Islands
- El Gurdabia · IMO 9233208 · oil tanker
- Tango · IMO 1010703 · ship
Ports in Cook Islands
Cook Islands flag: FAQ
- Is the Cook Islands flag safe for seafarers?
- The Cook Islands flag has weaker port-state-control ratings under one or both MoU regimes. It has not ratified MLC 2006, so MLC-based complaint routes are not directly available. Operators on weaker-rated flags are not always poor employers, but they face less external regulatory pressure.
- Has Cook Islands ratified the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006)?
- No — Cook Islands has not ratified MLC 2006 as of the last update of this directory. Seafarers on Cook Islands-flagged vessels still benefit from MLC indirectly when calling at MLC-ratified ports (port state may inspect the vessel) but cannot lodge a direct convention-based complaint against the flag administration.
- How do I file a complaint against a Cook Islands-flagged vessel or operator?
- Complaints can be lodged with the Cook Islands Maritime Administration via their official complaint procedure. Without MLC ratification, the principal route is direct to the flag administration. The ITF and seafarer welfare organisations may still be able to help with operator-level disputes. Keep contract, wage records, and seaman's book ready.
- What port-state-control rating does Cook Islands have?
- Paris MoU rating: not-listed. Tokyo MoU rating: grey. PSC ratings classify flags by inspection and detention history. White / low-risk flags face fewer PSC inspections; black / high-risk flags face more frequent inspection and a higher detention rate.
- Is Cook Islands on the ITF Flag of Convenience (FoC) list?
- Yes — Cook Islands is listed by the International Transport Workers' Federation as a Flag of Convenience. ITF FoC listing reflects the union's view that the flag has minimal genuine link to the beneficial owner of vessels registered. Seafarers on FoC vessels are eligible for ITF inspector intervention in any major port and for the ITF's globally-negotiated minimum wage benchmark when on an ITF-affiliated agreement.
Compare Cook Islands with another flag
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Compare →High confidence
Editorial confidence: how we grade. Data sources and methodology: /sources.