Global Maritime Regulatory System

SOLAS
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international maritime treaty which sets minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships. The convention requires signatory flag states to ensure that ships flagged by them comply with at least these standards.
The first version of SOLAS Treaty was passed in 1914 in response to the sinking of the RMS Titanic, which prescribed numbers of lifeboats and other emergency equipment along with safety procedures, including continuous radio watches. The 1914 treaty never entered into force due to the outbreak of the First World War.
Further versions were adopted in 1929 and 1948
The current version of SOLAS is the 1974 version, known as SOLAS 1974, which came into force on 25 May 1980. As of November 2018, SOLAS 1974 had 164 contracting states,which flag about 99% of merchant ships around the world in terms of gross tonnage.

MARPOL
MARPOL is the main international convention aimed at the prevention of pollution from ships caused by operational or accidental causes. It was adopted at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 1973. The Protocol of 1978 was adopted in response to a number of tanker accidents in 1976–1977. The 1978 Protocol was absorbed into the parent Convention and the combined instrument entered into force in 1983. In 1997, a Protocol was adopted to amend the Convention and a new Annex VI was added, which came into force in May 2005. The technical requirements of MARPOL are included in six separate Annexes

STCW
STCW stands for ‘Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping’. STCW came into force in 1978 as Governments agreed to standardise training around the world. STCW Basic Safety Training, as it is known today is required by all seafarers who are working onboard commercial ships or Superyachts
If you are seeking employment on a commercial ship, ferry, cruise ship or Superyacht, you are required to complete a STCW Basic Safety Training Course. 
The Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) is an international agreement of the International Labour Organisation (‘ILO’) which sets out seafarers’ rights to decent conditions of work.  It is sometimes called the ‘Seafarers’ Bill of Rights’.  It applies to all seafarers, including those with jobs in hotel and other passenger services on cruise ships and commercial yachts,
In 2013 the MLC became binding law for 30 countries. 
As of January 2019, a total of 90 countries had ratified the MLC 2006, which has resulted in more than 91% of the world’s shipping fleet being regulated. 

source: wikipedia

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