4 Conclusion
This article started by stating that the regulation of wage and working conditions on board foreign-flagged ships is feasible. And it is. The discussion has shown that coastal State regulation of wage and working conditions on board foreign-flagged ships can be based on the coastal State’s territorial sovereignty in its ports, internal waters and territorial sea, and on its sovereign rights in the exclusive economic zone and on the continental shelf. The legislative proposal presented at the end of this article represents but one way in which the coastal State can regulate wage and working conditions on board foreign-flagged ships, while interfering as little as possible with the interests of other States. Other ways of imposing national wage and working conditions on board foreign-flagged ships already exist, for instance in Australian and Canadian legislation, and yet others may come to exist in other coastal States in the years to come. Still, the legislative proposal presented in this article, as well as the discussion preceding it, serve to illustrate that it is feasible, within the boundaries set by the law of the sea and the rules and principles of general international law, to secure national wage and working conditions on board foreign-flagged ships.