The Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2018

Amendment of the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Minimum Requirements for Seafarers etc.) Regulations 2014

5.—(1) The Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Minimum Requirements for Seafarers etc.) Regulations 2014(1) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 2(1) (interpretation), in the definition of “pleasure vessel”—

(a) in paragraph (a), for sub-paragraph (i) substitute—

“(i) in the case of a vessel wholly owned by—

(aa) an individual or individuals, used only for the sport or pleasure of the owner or the immediate family or friends of the owner; or

(bb) a body corporate, used only for sport or pleasure and on which the persons on board are employees or officers of the body corporate, or their immediate family or friends; and”;

(b) in the words after paragraph (b), for “paragraphs” substitute “paragraph”.

(3) In regulation 30 (application of certain regulations to older ships)—

(a) before paragraph (1) insert—

“(A1) A ship the keel of which was laid or which was at a similar stage of construction before 1st July 1979—

(a) as respects crew accommodation which has not been substantially reconstructed or altered on or after that date, must comply with the requirements set out in Schedule 6 to the Merchant Shipping (Crew Accommodation) Regulations 1978(2) as if those Regulations had not been revoked;

(b) as respects crew accommodation which has been substantially reconstructed or altered on or after that date but before 11th July 1997, must comply with the requirements set out in Part 1 of the Merchant Shipping (Crew Accommodation) Regulations 1978, as if they had not been revoked;

(c) as respects crew accommodation which has been substantially reconstructed or altered on or after 11th July 1997 but before 7th August 2014, must comply with the requirements set out in the Merchant Shipping (Crew Accommodation) Regulations 1997(3).”;

(b) in paragraph (1)—

(i) in the words before sub-paragraph (a), after “construction” insert “on or after 1st July 1979 but”;

(ii) in sub-paragraph (a), for “Schedule 6 to” substitute “Part 1 of”;

(iii) in sub-paragraph (b), for “the date on which these Regulations come into force” substitute “7th August 2014”;

(c) in paragraph (2), for “the date on which these Regulations come into force”, in both places where it occurs, substitute “7th August 2014”;

(d) in paragraph (4), for “paragraphs” substitute “paragraph (A1),”.

(4) In regulation 50 (shipowner’s liability for wages following sickness or injury to seafarer)—

(a) in paragraph (4)—

(i) in the words before sub-paragraph (a), omit “Subject to paragraphs (5) to (7)”;

(ii) in sub-paragraph (a), for “that period” substitute “the period of incapacity”;

(iii) in sub-paragraph (b), for the words beginning with “that period” where they first occur, to the end, substitute “the period of incapacity”;

(b) for paragraph (5) substitute—

“(5) “Period of incapacity” means—

(a) where the seafarer’s seafarer employment agreement does not specify a date on which the agreement is to terminate, the shorter of the following—

(i) the period of 16 weeks beginning with the day (“the start day”) after the date of injury or the first day of sickness referred to in paragraph (1);

(ii) the period beginning with the start day and ending with the date that the seafarer is again fit for work; and

(iii) the period beginning with the start day and ending with the date that the agreement terminates;

(b) where the seafarer’s seafarer employment agreement does specify a date on which the agreement is to terminate, the shorter of the following—

(i) the period specified in paragraph (a)(i);

(ii) the period specified in paragraph (a)(ii);

(iii) the period specified in paragraph (a)(iii); and

(iv) the period beginning with the start day and ending with the termination date specified in the agreement.”;

(c) in paragraphs (7) and (8), for “referred to in paragraph (5)” substitute “of incapacity”;

(d) in paragraph (11), for “This regulation does” substitute “Paragraphs (1) to (10) of this regulation do”;

(e) after paragraph (11), insert—

“(12) A collective bargaining agreement may exclude or limit the operation of paragraphs (4) to (9) if it complies with paragraph (13).

(13) A collective bargaining agreement complies with this paragraph if it requires the person responsible under the agreement for paying seafarers to pay incapacitated seafarers the relevant amount for the period of incapacity.

(14) In paragraph (13)—

“incapacitated seafarer” means a seafarer party to the collective bargaining agreement who would otherwise receive a payment by virtue of paragraph (4);

“relevant amount” in relation to a period of incapacity means the whole or a specified percentage of the basic wages that would have been payable under the incapacitated seafarer’s seafarer employment agreement if —

(a)

the seafarer had remained fit for work; and

(b)

(where the agreement would otherwise have terminated during the period that the seafarer was not fit for work) the agreement had continued on the same terms throughout that period.

(15) The purported termination by any person of a seafarer’s seafarer employment agreement is to have no effect if it is solely or mainly for the purpose of avoiding liability to make any payment under this regulation.”.

(1)

S.I. 2014/1613.

(2)

S.I. 1978/795. Relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1979/491, 1984/41 and 1989/184. S.I. 1978/795 was revoked on 11th July 1997 by S.I. 1997/1508.

(3)

S.I. 1997/1508. Amended by S.I. 2005/2114 and S.I. 2014/1614.