Manning agency

A manning agency is a company that recruits, screens, and supplies seafarers to shipowners and ship managers, handling contracts, certificate checks, joining travel, and payroll on behalf of the principal. Where it operates in an MLC-ratifying country it is a seafarer recruitment and placement service under MLC 2006 Regulation 1.4 and must be licensed, charge the seafarer no recruitment fee, and hold financial-protection insurance covering seafarer loss on default. Under a BIMCO CREWMAN B arrangement the agency can be the legal employer of the crew it supplies. Flag and port states verify the agency chain at MLC inspection, and using an unregulated agency is a documented detention risk.