Tackling modern slavery within the marine sector

Despite significant advances in human rights and global development, modern slavery remains a deep rooted issue and one which is becoming increasingly prevalent in UK maritime and wider logistics networks. 

In October 2024, the British Ports Association released guidance on modern slavery and smuggling, which provides practical information for ports and harbours in preventing modern slavery.  

What is modern slavery?

Modern slavery is defined in the Modern Slavery Act 2015 as the offence of 'slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour' (Section 1) and 'Human trafficking' (Section 2). 

Statutory Guidance which accompanies the act defines modern slavery as where “victims are forced, threatened or deceived into situations of subjugation, degradation and control which undermines their personal identity and sense of self.”

The reality is, modern slavery has many faces and can occur in both contractual and non-contractual settings. It encompasses both forced labour and human trafficking and can involve physical abuse, psychological coercion and financial entrapment, by way of debt bondage. 

British Port Association guidance

Ports and harbours are affected by modern slavery in different ways and to varying degrees but all should be incentivised to act. The guidance provides a roadmap for how to map out and formulate a response plan, broken down into four stages: Plan, Do, Check and Act.

In addition to the four stages, the guidance lays out top five recommendations: 

1. Policy – confirm zero tolerance for modern slavery
2. Training – convey what to look for and how to report modern slavery
3. Reporting – collect and evaluate data on modern slavery
4. Engagement – seek out value chain collaborators and cooperate
5. A modern slavery statement – disclose what you are doing. 

Each of these recommendations can be identified in the four stages below.

1. Plan

Before taking any action, you need to plan and before you can effectively plan, you need to understand what modern slavery means to your port and harbour. Essential to this is carrying out risk assessments, including port facility security assessments, an Enterprise Risk Register and mapping out your supply chains. Considers issues such as:

• Where you are buying personal protective equipment from and whether you are buying it cheaply abroad;
• What contractual arrangements you have with cleaning companies and whether their employees might be vulnerable to modern slavery;
• Where you sit geographically and whether there are any sectors which operate within your port, such as fishing and cargo handling, which might be particularly vulnerable to modern slavery practices. 

You should review your current policies and procedures, consider leadership responsibilities and carry out a gap analysis report to identify areas of weakness.

2. Do 

Having carried out your plan, you will now be in a position to know what action you want to take, how urgently you need to act and how you can achieve your target state. Action will vary according to size, risk profile and aspirations, but all action should be centred around a zero-tolerance policy to modern slavery.

Documentation

• Review and update your policies and procedures around modern slavery, including ensuring that you have a strong whistleblowing policy. 
• Keep risk assessments under review to ensure that they are accurate and effective.
• Know your client vendor checks, acquisition due diligence and vendor due diligence.
• Produce a Modern Slavery Statement, remembering that this is mandatory for organisations with a turnover of £36 million or more (Section 54 Modern Slavery Act 2015).

Communication

• Communicate policies and procedures to employees.
• Confirm expectations and a zero-tolerance policy with clients and employees.
• Engage and collaborate with other ports and harbours using platforms such as Portsafe and Protect UK.

Resource and operation

• Fill in any resource gaps that were identified in your planning stage, through training or hiring. 
• Embed a zero tolerance culture within your organisation, ensuring it is a part of every day operations, such as checking cargo. 
• Have a crisis response plan – what do you do if you identify modern slavery? 
• Procurement – make sure that their goals are balanced with modern slavery issues. For example, if they are driven by getting the lowest price, how do you balance this with preventing modern slavery? 
• Human resources – make sure that they are adequately trained to recognise and respond to signs of modern slavery. 

3. Check 

During your planning stage you should have identified what needs to be monitored and measured, including identifying criteria against which you can check your performance, both positive and negative. 

This does not need to be costly but is about communicating what is and is not working. Carry out audits and inspections, including asking employees if they know what the modern slavery policies and procedures are.

4. Act/improve 

The final stage is to act, both on incidents and near-misses. Where instances of modern slavery have been detected, action should be taken to correct situations and prevent recurrence. Events should be reported internally and externally with consideration given to what, how, who and when to tell, bearing in mind legally reporting responsibilities and disclosure obligations with consideration given to national laws affecting international supply chain interfaces. For example, German links may trigger the 2023 German Supply Chain Act, despite being based in the UK. 

Collecting, evaluating and sharing data between port operators and enforcement is essential to identify trends and preventing modern slavery with collaboration between port operators. In May 2023 the BPA launched a new security alert systems for rapid information sharing amongst industry to help prevent and detect criminal activity, to which any port can sign up. Consideration should also be given to modern slavery disclosure expectations amongst external stakeholders. 

BPA guidance is extensive and comprehensive and is intended to be scalable so that it is accessible by ports of any size and capacity. 

Conclusion

The nature of maritime transport and complex supply chains means that there are many opportunities for modern slavery to occur. Through implementing strong policies and procedures and following BPA guidance, organisations can put in place tighter and more efficient controls to tackle the issue and help prevent modern slavery within the marine sector. 

Should your organisation require advice or training in relation to to any of the subject matters raised in this article, please contact Zoe Hunt.