From the 20th of February 2018 and beyond, any registered owner of vessel(s) over 200 GT trading in UAE area must have liability insurance towards their crew members. Specifically, this new requirement concerns seafarers’ rights such as crew wages, repatriation expenses, death and long-term disability. Shipowners must comply with this new requirement and present the certificate of such insurance (existing IG MLC Certificates should suffice) to UAE’s Federal Transport Authority (FTA) so as not to be banned from calling UAE ports or sailing into UAE’s waters.