UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency has issued a Marine Guidance Note to outline the procedure for applying for a substantial equivalence on UK flagged vessels which are subject to the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC).
The Note briefly describes the application procedure for UK flagged vessels and for vessels flagging into the UK, provides details on the information which will be required when applying for a substantial equivalence and lists the substantial equivalences that have been approved with agreement of both shipowners’ and seafarers’ organisations.
The procedure for the approval of ship-specific substantial equivalences will follow the same arrangement that was used for exemptions under the Merchant Shipping (Crew Accommodation) Regulations 1997 (based on ILO 92 and ILO 133). These arrangements are:
- The shipowner discusses the proposals with the attending surveyor. The surveyor records this on a form which is placed on the ship’s file.
- The shipowner writes to the Unions with the proposals
- The Unions respond.
The MCA intends to use a standard procedure with a set criteria for considering any proposal seeking ship-specific “substantial equivalences” similar to that described above. This will not create a derogation for the shipbuilder to build further ships to the same standard.
Further details may be found by reading the Note
Source: UK MCA
