Global trade relies heavily on shipping; yet maritime law frameworks often fail to protect seafarers’ human rights adequately. Seafarers thus continue to experience coerced labor, abandonment, harassment, or inadequate treatment. This research aims to establish a cohesive legal framework safeguarding seafarers’ human rights through a comparative analysis of international and Korean maritime law. It provides an overview of the current status of seafarers’ human rights protection; describes the theoretical framework of human rights principles and maritime labor; reviews and analyzes legal precedents regarding seafarers’ human rights; and offer recommendations for international and domestic (Korean) policies and industry and stakeholder engagement to strengthen the protection of seafarers’ human rights. This manuscript addresses soft law initiatives, including the Neptune Declaration, Geneva Declaration, and the training and accountability proposals from the IMO-ILO. The authors advocate for more stringent national legislation, comprehensive worldwide SASH training, and enhanced oversight. Ultimately, the rights of seafarers necessitate enforceable legal reform, global collaboration, and interagency support.

Five countries have made submissions for an extended continental shelf in the South China Sea (SCS) to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), fuelling tensions and disputes with China. As the CLCS’ decision to consider and qualify these submissions may have a far-reaching impact on the settlement of territorial and maritime disputes in the region, comprehensive understanding and analysis of the CLCS’ strategies in managing “submissions involving land or maritime disputes” in practice is needed. China’s notes verbales contesting the submissions may not stop the CLCS from considering these submissions. Therefore, to ensure that its interests are respected, China should amend its notes verbales by: (1) identifying the ‘dispute’; (2) clarifying its status as party to the ‘dispute’; (3) expressing “not consent” and requesting the CLCS “not to consider or qualify” any of the submissions; and (4) clarifying the legal scope of waters in the SCS.

Marine debris has become a serious global environmental and economic concern with abandoned fishing gear identified as one of the primary drivers threatening marine ecosystems. In South Korea, a substantial amount of fishing gear continues to enter the ocean annually; however, the current land-based disposal system faces inherent limitations including high transportation costs and low recycling efficiency. To address these challenges, this study evaluated the feasibility of repurposing decommissioned fishing vessels as marine pre-treatment platforms to collect and process abandoned fishing gear at sea. Results indicate that marine pre-treatment vessels can reduce the volume of discarded fishing gear, thereby cutting transport and disposal costs. Refitting decommissioned vessels is more cost-effective than new construction and increases their recycling value. This research provides a policy and technical foundation to improve the marine debris management system by assessing the economic and environmental benefits of deploying marine pre-treatment vessels.