Article 47A of the Merchant Shipping (Issue and Recognition of Certificates and Marine Training) Laws of 2008 and 2017,1 which took effect on January 1 2008, provides that crew members on-board coastal passenger vessels who have safety duties relating to passengers must meet the mandatory minimum familiarisation and basic safety training and instruction requirements for all seafarers under Regulation VI/I of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers.
The requirement to hold a basic training certificate of proficiency is limited to the crew complement which is required by the vessel's minimum safe manning certificate issued in accordance with the Merchant Shipping (Safe Manning, Hours of Work and Watch Keeping) Laws of 2000 and 2005.2 The Department of Merchant Shipping has decided to omit parts of the training that are not applicable due to:
- the small size of vessels;
- the short duration of voyages;
- proximity to the coast;
- favourable weather conditions; and
- the limited amount of safety equipment on-board.
These omissions do not apply to skippers.
The rest of the crew must receive sufficient information and instructions from the vessel's skipper to be able to:
- communicate with other persons on-board regarding elementary safety matters;
- understand safety information symbols, signs and alarm signals; and
- know what to do in emergency situations.
Details of briefings on these matters must be recorded in the vessel's official log book.
Footnotes
(1) Law 27(I)/2008 as amended.
(2) Law 105(I)/2000 as amended.
Originally published by International Law Office.
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