Portillo · Maradiaga · Montoya — Tegucigalpa, Honduras
We know what signing on costs: the months away from home, the endless watch, the contract nobody explained properly. That is why we exist. We are the onshore legal backup for merchant seafarers, so the only thing you have to worry about is signing on and sailing.
What we take off your plate
Three situations we see every day at the firm. If you recognise yourself in any of them, there is a fix — and it is usually faster than you think.
Situation 01
You cannot fly home just to stand in a queue, and every day without a valid document is a contract you cannot close. We handle the physical filing on shore, before the Directorate General of the Merchant Marine (DGMM), and keep you updated on progress without you having to chase us.
Situation 02
You file a complete application and the next day a requirement appears that was never on the list. That back-and-forth is the leading cause of delay. Before we file anything, we check your sea service and documents against the requirement in force, and assemble an application that gives them nothing to reject.
Situation 03
Withheld wages, repatriation that never comes, rest hours nobody respects. Those are not favours from the shipowner: they are set out in the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC) and in your seafarer employment agreement. We read it with you and decide what action actually applies.
Our speciality
This is not one more department of the firm — it is the reason the firm exists. We work the seafarer's whole career: training, certification, signing on, and defence.
Certification
Training · STCW
Defence · MLC 2006
Practice areas
The sea is our speciality, not our only work. We also advise companies, families and professionals on the matters that decide their stability.
DGMM licences and discharge books, STCW employment advice and seafarer defence under the MLC 2006. Crews, officers and Merchant Marine proceedings.
View area 02Employment disputes and administrative proceedings for companies and workers alike. Legal prevention is a business strategy too.
View area 03Immigration proceedings, international documentation and consular management. Clear processes for important decisions.
View area 04Company formation, contracts, regulatory compliance and preventive risk analysis. Legal decisions drive growth as well.
View area 05Appeals, nullity claims and complaints before public authorities. Legal precision in complex proceedings.
View area 06Probate, asset management and civil matters handled with a clear, human and strategic approach. Legal certainty for the future.
View areaHow we work
The real cost of a badly handled application is not the money: it is the signing-on you lost while waiting. That is why the process starts with knowing exactly where you stand.
WhatsApp, email or phone. You do not need an office or an office hour on your side: we answer even mid-watch.
We review your sea service, certificates and documents, and tell you plainly what applies to your case and what does not.
We start on 50% of the agreed fee. If the outcome is not the one we agreed, the remaining half is never charged.
We come to you. A status report on the file without you having to ask, until the document is in your hands.
Why PMM
A career governed by international conventions, certified watchkeeping and responsibility for thousands of tonnes deserves technical advice, not an express service.
Before we were your lawyers we were the people walking a seafarer through his training and his first signing-on. We know what is specific to this trade, and that changes the advice we give.
The follow-up is on us. We resolve every doubt until it is clear, because an informed client decides better than a rushed one.
We bill half to start. If the outcome is not what we agreed, the second half does not exist. That is how direct our commitment to the result is.
Here your time and your profession are respected. Your licence and your discharge book come through because they come through.
What we tell every seafarer who arrives tired of the bureaucracy
Frequently asked
If your question is not here, write to us. Answering a question carries no charge.
It depends on two things: whether your documents and sea service are complete, and the processing time of the competent authority. The first one we control. That is why we always start with an assessment: before we promise dates, we review the file. A clean application moves at its natural pace; an incomplete one multiplies into requirements.
Often yes, and often no for a reason you would not expect. Promotion does not depend only on months at sea: approved courses, assessments and the exact match between your record and the rank requested all count. We review your record book against the requirements in force and tell you which route suits you.
We advise which certificate you need, where it is valid and what it requires, and we handle the process with the approved institutions. We do not issue certificates ourselves: that would be fraudulent and would cost you your career.
Yes. It is the most common scenario. You send your documents scanned, the power of attorney is signed remotely, and we do everything that requires physical presence on shore. You carry on with your life on board.
The fee is agreed in writing before work starts and paid in two parts: 50% to begin and 50% on delivery of the result. If the result is not the one we agreed, the second payment is not made.
Yes. Beyond Honduras' north coast — Puerto Cortés, La Ceiba, Trujillo, Bay Islands, Gracias a Dios — and the Gulf of Fonseca, we work with Colombian, Salvadoran and Indian seafarers, and with crews on foreign-flagged vessels.
Let's start today
Tell us what you need and we will tell you plainly what applies to your case. No obligation, and no charge for the first orientation.
