The Legal Status Of Chinese Seafarer Manning Agencies

China is a major exporter of seafarers' labor services.By the end of 2018,China has about 140000 seafarers by seafarer mannin g agency was sent to foreign and Hong Kong,Macao and Taiwan regions,who work on the ship.Since the legal status of seafarer manning agency is not clear in the relevant laws and regulations,how to divide the legal responsibilities between the seafarer manning agencies and the foreign shipowners when the basic rights of seafarers are damaged is often the focus of the tripartite dispute.Therefore,it is necessary to start with the operation mode of seafarers' labor assignment in China,clarify the tripartite legal relationship among.seafarer manning agencies,assigning seafarers and foreign shipowners,and explore the legal status of seafarer manning agencies.There are five charters in this paper.In the Chapter 1,the author summarized the development of seafarers' labor assignment and.its operation mode,and analyzed the provisions of China's current legislation on seafarer manning agencies.In addition,the author pointed out that the legal status of seafarer manning agency is not clear,which leads to the difficulty in determining the subject of liability,the difficulty in identifying the employers of independent seafarers,and the failure of the seafarer manning agencies and foreign shipowners to effectively control the legal risks.In the Chapter 2,by comparing the similarities and differences between service contract and labor contract,the author analyzed the nature of seafarers' labor assignment contract.Then,combining with different modes of seafarers' labor assignment,the legal relations among Assigning seafarers,seafarer manning agencies and foreign shipowners are clarified.In the Chapter 3,based on the recognition of the legal status of seafarer manning agencies,the author discussed the relief methods of seafarers' rights when seafarer manning agencies are intermediaries or employers.It also demonstrates that when the legal status of the seafarer manning agency is employer,the seafarers can get more adequate relief when they are owed wages or suffer personal injury or death.In the Chapter 4,the author analyzed the definition of the legal status of seafarer manning agencies in international conventions and other national or regional legislations,and concluded that the definition of the legal status of seafarer manning agencies in China should not be limited to the intermediary role.In the Chapter 5,the author put forward the legislative proposals from three aspects:the definition of the seafarer manning agency in China as an intermediary or employer,the legal liability of seafarer manning agencies,and the identification of the employers of independent seafarers.Based on that,the author proposed to improve and develop the non-profit seafarer manning agency,and to establish the protection mechanism through insurance to ensure that seafarers' rights and interests are fully compensated when they are damaged.