The law was passed by the State Duma on November 3, 2006, and approved by the Federation Council on November 15, 2006.
Under the terms of the Convention, seamen will be issued with special identity documents containing biometric information about the bearer, and a 24-hour coordination centre will be set up that, upon request by the immigration authorities in other countries, can confirm at any moment the authenticity of the identity documents. A data base of the documents issued shall also be established.
Once a majority of countries have ratified the Convention, Russian citizens without a seafarer’s identity document will not be able to work on Russian vessels making international voyages. This will deprive them of their right to exercise their chosen profession and will have negative consequences for Russian ship owners and the Russian economy in general.