European Communities (Workers on Board Sea-Going Fishing Vessels) (Organisation of Working Time) Regulations, 2003

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 709/2003
• Year: 2003

I, DERMOT AHERN, Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purposes of giving effect to Council Directive 93/104/EC of 23 November 19931 and to Directive 2000/34/EC of the European Parliament and Council of 22 June 20002 , hereby make the following Regulations:
	Citation	1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Workers on Board Sea-going Fishing Vessels) (Organisation of Working Time) Regulations 2003.
	Interpretation	2. (1) In these Regulations -
“authorised officer” means a person appointed under Regulation 10;
“Competent Authority” means the Department;
“complaint” means any information or report submitted by a worker on board a sea-going fishing vessel, a professional body, an association, a trade union or, generally, any person with an interest in the safety of the sea-going fishing vessel, including an interest in the safety or health of a worker on board a sea-going fishing vessel;
“Department” means the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources;
“Directive” means, as the context admits or requires, Directive 93/104/EC or Directive 2000/34/EC and a reference to the Directives is a reference to each of them;
“Directive 93/104/EC” means the Council Directive of 23 November 1993;
“Directive 2000/34/EC” means Directive 2000/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 2000;
“fishing vessel” means a vessel designed, equipped or used commercially for catching or taking fish or other living resources of the sea (including the sea bed) or freshwater;
“hours of rest” means time outside hours of work and does not include short breaks;
“hours of work” means any time during which a worker on board a sea-going fishing vessel is required to do work on the business of, or in connection with the vessel;
“master” includes every person (except a pilot) having command or charge of a sea-going fishing vessel;
“Marine Notice” means a notice described as such and issued by the Department and any reference to a particular Marine Notice includes a reference to that notice as amended or replaced from time to time;
“Minister” means the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources;
“partially smooth waters” means the areas of water so specified in a Marine Notice within the period or periods, if any, specified therein;
“sea-going fishing vessel” means a fishing vessel going beyond the limits of smooth and partially smooth waters;
“smooth waters” means any areas of water not being to sea or partially smooth waters, and in particular, the areas of water so specified in a Marine Notice;
“vessel owner”, in relation to a sea-going fishing vessel, means the owner of the fishing vessel or any other organisation or person, such as the manager or charterer, who has assumed the responsibility for the operation of the fishing vessel from the owner;
(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in a Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Directive.
(3) In these Regulations —
(a) a reference to a Regulation or a Schedule is to a Regulation of, or Schedule to, these Regulations, unless it is indicated that reference to some other Regulations is intended, and
(b) a reference to a paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to a paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.
	Scope	3. (1) Subject to paragraph (2), these Regulations apply to:
(a) sea-going fishing vessels registered in the State wherever they may be; and
(b) sea-going fishing vessels registered in a Member State other than the State, when in a port in the State.
(2) Regulations 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 do not apply to a sea-going fishing vessel that is not registered in the State.
(3) For the purposes of these Regulations, a sea-going fishing vessel that is registered in two or more states is deemed to be registered in the territory of the state whose flag it flies.
	Competent Authority	4. A function conferred on the Competent Authority by these Regulations may be performed by an authorised officer.
	General duty of sea-going fishing vessel owners and masters	5. (1) Subject to Regulation 8, it shall be the duty of every owner and every master of a sea-going fishing vessel to ensure that:
(a) workers on board a sea-going fishing vessel are provided with at least the minimum hours of rest or are required to work no more than the maximum hours of work specified in Regulation 6;
(b) manning levels on board the sea-going fishing vessel are determined, approved or revised taking into account the need to avoid or minimise, as far as is reasonably practicable, excessive hours of work, to ensure sufficient rest and to limit fatigue.
(2) It shall be the duty of every owner of a sea-going fishing vessel to provide the master of a sea-going fishing vessel with all necessary resources for the purposes of compliance with obligations under these Regulations.
	Hours of work and rest	6. (1) Subject to the limit of an average of 48 hours of work over a reference period not exceeding 12 months, the limits on hours of work and rest in respect of a worker on board a sea-going fishing vessel shall be either:
(a) maximum hours of work which shall not exceed:
(i) 14 hours in any 24-hour period, and
(ii) 72 hours in any seven-day period
or
(b) minimum hours of rest which shall not be less than:
(i) 10 hours in any 24-hour period, and
(ii) 77 hours in any seven-day period.
(2) Hours of rest may be divided into no more than two periods, one of which shall be at least 6 hours in length and the interval between consecutive such periods shall not exceed 14 hours.
(3) A worker on board a sea-going fishing vessel who is on call shall have an adequate compensatory rest period if his hours of rest are disturbed by call-outs to work.
	Exemptions	7. (1) The Minister may, for objective or technical reasons or reasons concerning the organization of work, grant an exemption from the limits laid down in Regulation 6, provided that:
(a) he has consulted as far as possible representatives of the employer and the workers concerned, and
(b) the exemption has regard as far as possible to the limits laid down in Regulation 6 and is subject to such conditions and limitations as will protect the health and safety of the workers in question.
(2) The Minister may, on giving reasonable notice, alter or cancel any exemption granted under paragraph (1).
(3) An exemption granted under paragraph (1) and an alteration or cancellation under paragraph (2) shall -
(a) be given in writing,
(b) specify the date on which it takes effect, and
(c) in the case of the grant of an exemption, specify the terms (if any) on which it is granted.
	Exception for emergencies	8. (1) The master of a sea-going fishing vessel may require a worker on board a sea-going fishing vessel to perform any hours of work necessary for the immediate safety of the sea-going fishing vessel, persons on board or cargo, or for the purpose of giving assistance to another vessel or persons in distress at sea or where due to any other emergency or the occurrence of other unusual and unforeseeable circumstances outside the control of the master and the sea-going fishing vessel owner it would not be practicable to comply with Regulation...