The Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Minimum Requirements for Seafarers etc.) Regulations 2014

PART 7 Crew accommodation

Crew accommodation requirements

29.—(1) In this Part, “crew accommodation” means accommodation, including the construction, machinery, fittings and equipment of that accommodation, intended for or used by seafarers.

(2) Subject to regulations 30, 31 and 32, a ship must comply with the requirements relating to crew accommodation set out in Merchant Shipping Notice 1844 (M).

(3) A breach of paragraph (2) is an offence by the shipowner.

(4) The master of the ship, or an officer appointed by the master for that purpose, must, at intervals not exceeding 7 days and accompanied by at least one member of the crew, inspect the crew accommodation to ensure it is clean, decently habitable and maintained in a good state of repair.

(5) A breach of paragraph (4) is an offence by the master of the ship.

(6) The master of the ship, or an officer appointed by the master for that purpose, must record the findings of inspections undertaken pursuant to paragraph (4) in the official log book of the ship specifying—

(a) the time and date of the inspection;

(b) the name and rank of each person making the inspection; and

(c) particulars of any respect in which the crew accommodation was found by any of the persons making the inspection not to comply with these Regulations.

(7) A breach of paragraph (6) is an offence by the master of the ship.

Provision for certain older ships

30.—(1) A ship the keel of which was laid or which was at a similar stage of construction before 11th July 1997—

(a) as respects crew accommodation which has not been substantially reconstructed or altered on or after 11th July 1997, must comply with the requirements set out in Schedule 6 to the Merchant Shipping (Crew Accommodation) Regulations 1978(1), as if they had not been revoked;

(b) as respects crew accommodation which has been substantially reconstructed or altered on or after 11th July 1997 but before the date on which these Regulations come into force, must comply with the requirements set out in the Merchant Shipping (Crew Accommodation) Regulations 1997(2).

(2) A ship the keel of which was laid or which was at a similar stage of construction on or after 11th July 1997 but before the date on which these Regulations come into force must, as respects crew accommodation which has not been substantially reconstructed or altered on or after the date on which these Regulations come into force, comply with the requirements set out in the Merchant Shipping (Crew Accommodation) Regulations 1997.

(3) In this regulation “similar stage of construction” means the stage at which—

(a) construction identifiable with a specific ship begins; and

(b) assembly of that ship has commenced comprising at least 50 tonnes or one per cent of the estimated mass of all structural material, whichever is less.

(4) A breach of paragraphs (1) or (2) is an offence by the shipowner.

Exemptions

31.—(1) The Secretary of State may exempt a ship from some or all of the requirements of regulation 29(2) where —

(a) the exemption is expressly permitted by Standard A3.1 (accommodation and recreational facilities) of the MLC; and

(b) the Secretary of State has fulfilled any obligation imposed on the competent authority by that Standard in respect of the exemption,

and in sub-paragraph (a), the reference to an exemption which is expressly permitted includes anything permitted in accordance with paragraph 6(a) or (d) of Standard A3.1 of the MLC or allowed in accordance with paragraph 9(g) of that Standard.

(2) An exemption under this regulation—

(a) must be given in writing;

(b) may be granted on such terms as the Secretary of State may specify; and

(c) may be altered or cancelled by the Secretary of State giving written notice to the shipowner.

(3) A breach of the terms of an exemption granted under paragraph (1) is an offence by the shipowner.

Approvals to allow substantial equivalences

32.—(1) In respect of a particular ship, or ships of a particular description, the Secretary of State may approve arrangements which, when taken together with the conditions to which the approval is subject, the Secretary of State considers are substantially equivalent to the requirements which are set out in Merchant Shipping Notice 1844(M).

(2) An approval under this regulation—

(a) must be given in writing; and

(b) must specify the date on which it takes effect and the conditions (if any) on which it is given.

(3) Such an approval may be cancelled and the terms of an approval may be altered, in both cases by the Secretary of State giving written notice to the shipowner.

(4) A breach of a condition on which such an approval is given is an offence by the shipowner.

Part 7 requirements for non-United Kingdom ships with MLC documentation

33.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a ship must not be operated unless it complies with the minimum standards for on-board accommodation and recreational facilities set out in paragraphs 6 to 17 of Standard A3.1 (accommodation and recreational facilities) of the MLC.

(2) The requirement in paragraph (1) is subject to—

(a) the application provision in paragraph 2 of Regulation 3.1 of the MLC; and

(b) any permissions, exemptions or variations which have been granted or allowed by the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly and which are permitted by the MLC provisions referred to in paragraph (1).

(3) A breach of paragraph (1) is an offence by the shipowner.

(4) The master of a ship must comply with the requirements in paragraph 18 of Standard A3.1 of the MLC with regard to—

(a) frequent inspections; and

(b) the recording of the results of such inspections and making those results available for review,

whether or not the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly has imposed those requirements in its national laws or otherwise.

(5) A breach of paragraph (4) is an offence by the master of the ship.

(1)

S.I. 1978/795, amended by S.I. 1979/491, S.I. 1984/41 and S.I. 1989/184 and revoked on 11 July 1997 by S.I. 1997/1508.

(2)

S.I. 1997/1508.