Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Shipowners’ Liabilities and Repatriation) (Amendment) Regulations 2020

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 88/2020
• Year: 2020

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 24th March, 2020.

I, Shane Ross, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 87 of the Merchant Shipping Act 2010 (No. 14 of 2010) (as adapted by the Transport (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2011 ( S.I. No. 141 of 2011 ) and for the purpose of giving further effect to Council Directive 2009/13/EC of 16 February 20091 , as amended by Council Directive (EU) 2018/131 of 23 January 20182 , hereby make the following regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Shipowners’ Liabilities and Repatriation) (Amendment) Regulations 2020.

(2) These Regulations come into operation on 16 February 2020.

2. The Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Shipowners’ Liabilities and Repatriation) Regulations 2014 ( S.I. No. 375 of 2014 ) are amended–

(a) in Regulation 2–

(i) by substituting for the definition of “Convention” the following definition:

“ ‘Convention’ means the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 adopted at Geneva on 23 February 2006 and amended by the 2014 amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention which were approved in Geneva on 11 June 2014 and entered into force on 18 January 2017;”,

(ii) by inserting after the definition of “Irish ship” the following:

“ ‘Maritime Labour Certificate’ means a certificate issued under Regulation 11 of the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention)(Flag State Inspection and Certification) Regulations 2014 ( S.I. No. 376 of 2014 );”, and

(iii) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:

“(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in Council Directive 2009/13/EC of 16 February 20091 as amended by Council Directive (EU) 2018/131 of 23 January 20182 , has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in those Directives.”,

(b) in Regulation 4–

(i) in paragraph (1) by inserting “or collective agreement” after “or a seafarer employment agreement”, and

(ii) by substituting for paragraph (2) the following:

“(2) A financial security to assure compensation as provided by paragraph (1) shall meet the following minimum requirements:

(a) subject to subparagraph (c), contractual compensation where set out in a seafarer’s employment agreement shall be paid to the seafarer in full and without delay;

(b) there shall be no pressure put on a seafarer to accept payment less than the contractual amount;

(c) where the nature of a seafarer’s long-term disability makes it difficult to assess the full contractual compensation to which the seafarer may be entitled, an interim payment or payments shall be made to the seafarer, so as to avoid undue hardship;

(d) a seafarer shall receive payment without prejudice to other legal rights, but such payment may be offset by the shipowner against any damages resulting from any other claim made by the seafarer against the shipowner and arising from the same incident;

(e) a claim for contractual compensation may be made to the shipowner’s financial security provider and may be brought directly by the seafarer concerned or his or her next of kin or a representative of the seafarer or designated beneficiary.

(3) Where financial security for a ship is to be cancelled or terminated, the shipowner shall ensure the seafarers on board the ship are given prior notification.

(4) A financial security provider shall notify the competent authority if the shipowner’s financial security is cancelled or terminated.

(5) A financial security shall not cease before the end of the period of validity of the financial security unless the financial security provider has given prior notification of at least 30 days to the competent authority.

(6) Financial security shall provide for the payment of all contractual claims covered by it which arise during the period for which it is valid.

(7) A shipowner shall ensure–

(a) that proof of financial security, in the form of a certificate or other documentary evidence issued by the financial security provider–

(i) is carried on board the ship, and

(ii) a copy is posted in a conspicuous place on board the ship, and

(b) that the certificate or other documentary evidence of financial security–

(i) is in English or accompanied by an English translation, and

(ii) contains the following information:

(I) name of the ship;

(II) port of registry of the ship;

(III) call sign of the ship;

(IV) IMO number of the ship;

(V) name and address of the financial security provider;

(VI) contact details of the persons or entity responsible for handling seafarers’ claims for contractual compensation;

(VII) name of the shipowner;

(VIII) period of validity of the financial security;

(IX) an attestation from the financial security provider that the financial security meets the requirements of Standard A4.2.1 of the Convention.

(8) in this Regulation–

‘contractual compensation’ means compensation in the event of the death or long-term disability of a seafarer arising from an occupational injury, illness or hazard, and which is set out in the seafarer’s agreement, a collective agreement or in an enactment;

‘financial security provider’ means the provider of the insurance or financial security in accordance with paragraph (1).”,

(c) by inserting after Regulation 11 the following:

“Repatriation costs

11A (1) If the owner fails to make provision for or to bear the cost of repatriation of a seafarer who is entitled to be repatriated in accordance with Regulation 11, the Minister shall make arrangements, or have arrangements made on his or her behalf, for the repatriation of the seafarer and shall be entitled to recover the cost of repatriation from the owner as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(2) The costs which the Minister may recover under paragraph (1) include?

(a) costs incurred by the Minister, or by a person on the Minister’s behalf, for the repatriation of a seafarer, and

(b) costs incurred by the Minister, in reimbursing another person or a state other than the State, who or which has assisted with the repatriation of the seafarer.

(3) If the owner fails to make provision for or to bear the cost of the repatriation of a seafarer who is entitled to be repatriated in accordance with Regulation 11 and the Minister has not made arrangements for the repatriation of the seafarer under...