The UK MCA issued a Merchant Shipping Notice containing the detailed mandatory requirements specified by the Secretary of State under the Merchant Shipping (MLC) (Hours of Work) Regulations 2018, giving also guidance on the application of the Regulations.
Key Points
1. The Regulations:
- apply to all seafarers, including masters, employed, engaged or working in any capacity on board a seagoing ship, and whose normal place of work is on a ship;
- do not apply to seafarers on fishing vessels, pleasure vessels, warships or naval auxiliaries, or vessels which are not ordinarily engaged in commercial activities; or seafarers subject to the Merchant Shipping (Working Time: Inland Waterways)Regulations 2003;
As they apply to UK ships and non-UK ships with no maritime labour certificate, the Regulations:
- provide for a minimum of 77 hours of rest in any 7-day period and 10 hours rest in any 24-hour period;
- require a schedule of hours of rest to be posted up on board the ship (Annex A);
- require records of hours of rest to be maintained (Annex B);
- provide for employed seafarers (as defined) 2.5 days of paid annual leave per month of employment, and an additional 8 days of paid leave per year in respect of public holidays (both pro-rated for shorter periods); give employed seafarers (as defined) the right to take a case regarding their entitlements to paid leave to an employment tribunal;
- require shipowners to grant shore leave to benefit seafarers’ health and well-being, where compatible with their operational duties (not applicable to ships of traditional build);
- provide for inspection and enforcement by the MCA.
2. Application of regulations to non-UK ships with a maritime labour certificate:
- Regulations 8, 10, 13 16 and 17 apply the standards of the MLC standard A2.3,
- Regulation 2.4 and Standard A2.4 to non-UK ships with a maritime labour certificate;
- Regulations 20 and 21 provide for the inspection and, if appropriate, the detention of the ship by MCA.
3. Relationship with the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Hours of Work) Regulations 2018
- The Regulations need to be read together with this Merchant Shipping Notice (MSN), as this MSN sets out some of the details, standards and formalities which must be observed in order to comply with the legal obligations under the Regulations.
- Failure to comply with those obligations may be a criminal offence under the Regulations.
- In order to assist with this, paragraph 17 contains an index which identifies the provisions in this Notice which relate to the relevant provision in the Regulations.
The Regulations recognise that situations may arise in which a seafarer may be required by the master to work during scheduled hours of rest. These include emergencies which threaten the safety of the ship, persons on board or the cargo or where another ship or person in distress requires assistance. In these circumstances, hours of rest schedules may be suspended until the normal situation is restored. The master shall ensure that any affected seafarer is then given an adequate rest period to avoid fatigue.
Further details may be found herebelow: