[QUOTE=tugsailor;175288]The USA is not a signatory to the MLC, so it does not apply in the US, or to a US flag ship at sea. Whether port state control might apply it in a foreign port is another question. I do not know the answer.
The US is a signatory to several older seamen’s rights conventions, which contain some of the same things as the MLC. Of course many things are in the CFRs.[/QUOTE]
The MLC has no teeth inside the USA, but what I’ve been taught is that signatory states can enforce them locally on ships of [I]any[/I] registry. To prevent problems, the Coast Guard offers a compromise measure: a certificate of voluntary compliance with the MLC.