Abstract
In February 2006, the Maritime Session of the International Labour Conference adopted a consolidated maritime labour Convention. This instrument represents a major breakthrough in several respects. The author briefly runs through the origins of the Maritime Sessions of the ILC and then lays out the structure and content of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006. Its innovative features include the consolidation of the provisions of more than 60 earlier instruments, a new system of enforcement that provides an incentive for ratification, and simplified procedures for revision.