🇻🇺 Vanuatu
ISO VUT / VU
Regulatory
- MLC 2006
- ratified (2016-02-20)
- Paris MoU rating
- not-listed
- Tokyo MoU rating
- grey
- USCG Qualship 21
- not listed
- ITF FoC
- listed as Flag of Convenience
Registry
- Vessel count
- 700
- Deadweight
- 5
- Administration
- Vanuatu Maritime Services Limited (VMSL)
- File a complaint
- Official form
Pacific open registry; mixed MoU performance
Compliance history
- Tokyo MoU
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Ratifications of ILO conventions: Ratifications for
Country context
- Population
- 335,169 (2025)
- GDP per capita
- $4,039 (2025)
- Income group
- Lower middle income
- Region
- East Asia & Pacific
Source: World Bank Open Data.
What this means for seafarers
- MLC 2006: This flag has ratified MLC 2006. Vessels must hold a valid Maritime Labour Certificate + DMLC Part II posted onboard. You can file an MLC complaint via the flag administration.
- 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 Vanuatu-flagged ships are inspected + detained in foreign ports.
- Minimum safe manning — the SOLAS V/14 basis for Vanuatu's manning documents.
- Marine cyber incidents — case studies + the IACS UR E26/E27 cyber-resilience regime.
Ports in Vanuatu
Vanuatu flag: FAQ
- Is the Vanuatu flag safe for seafarers?
- The Vanuatu flag has weaker port-state-control ratings under one or both MoU regimes. It has ratified MLC 2006, so seafarers retain convention-based rights. Operators on weaker-rated flags are not always poor employers, but they face less external regulatory pressure.
- Has Vanuatu ratified the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006)?
- Yes — Vanuatu has ratified MLC 2006 (ratified 2016). Seafarers serving on Vanuatu-flagged vessels are entitled to make MLC complaints through the flag administration, port state, or seafarer welfare organisations such as the ITF.
- How do I file a complaint against a Vanuatu-flagged vessel or operator?
- Complaints can be lodged with the Vanuatu Maritime Services Limited (VMSL) via their official complaint procedure. Under MLC 2006, complaints may also be lodged with the port-state authority of any MLC-ratified port. The ITF and seafarer welfare organisations (Mission to Seafarers, Stella Maris, Sailors' Society) can advocate on your behalf. Keep contract, wage records, and seaman's book ready.
- What port-state-control rating does Vanuatu 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 Vanuatu on the ITF Flag of Convenience (FoC) list?
- Yes — Vanuatu 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 Vanuatu with another flag
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Editorial confidence: how we grade. Data sources and methodology: /sources.