Merchant Shipping (Medical Examinations) Regulations 2014

JurisdictionIreland
CitationIR SI 246/2014

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 10th June, 2014.

I, LEO VARADKAR, 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 (No. 141 of 2011)), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive 2009/13/EC of 16 February 20091 and to Directive 2008/106/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 20082 (as amended by Directive 2012/35/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 20123 ), and having complied with the provisions of that section, hereby make the following regulations:

Citation and commencement

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Medical Examinations) Regulations 2014.

(2) These Regulations come into operation on 4 July 2014.

Interpretation

2. In these Regulations—

“Act of 1992” means the Merchant Shipping Act 1992 (No. 2 of 1992);

“Act of 2010” means the Merchant Shipping Act 2010 (No. 14 of 2010);

“approved doctor” means a medical practitioner whose name is for the time being entered in the register established under section 43 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 (No. 25 of 2007) and approved by the Minister under Regulation 4(1)(a);

“approved form” means a form approved by the Minister under Regulation 4(1)(e) from time to time and issued to an approved doctor;

“authorised person” has the same meaning as it has in section 87 of the Act of 2010;

“Marine Notice” means a notice, described as such, issued by the Minister, as may be amended or replaced from time to time;

“medical fitness certificate” means a seafarer’s medical certificate attesting to a person’s fitness or otherwise for the work for which he or she is to be employed at sea and which is—

(a) issued under Regulation 6, or

(b) a certificate, deemed under Regulation 8, to be equivalent to a medical fitness certificate issued under Regulation 6;

“medical referee” means an approved doctor who has been approved as an independent medical referee by the Minister under Regulation 4(1)(b);

“Regulations of 2011” means the European Communities (Passenger Ships) Regulations 2011 ( S.I. No. 322 of 2011 );

“seafarer” means any person, including the master, who is employed or engaged or works in any capacity on board a ship and whose normal place of work is on the ship but does not include a person who is a pilot within the meaning of the Harbours Act 1996 (No. 11 of 1996);

“seagoing”, in relation to a ship, means—

(a) a ship in respect of which a certificate is required to be in force in accordance with the Merchant Shipping (Load Lines) Act 1968 (No. 17 of 1968),

(b) a passenger boat of Class P5 or P6 in respect of which a passenger boat licence is required to be in force in accordance with the Act of 1992 and which proceeds to sea and operates beyond 40 miles from a sheltered harbour or bay where a vessel can safely berth alongside or be safely anchored,

(c) a passenger ship of Class I, II, II(A), III or VI in respect of which a passenger ship certificate is required to be in force in accordance with the Act of 1992,

(d) a passenger ship of Class A, B, C or D in respect of which a passenger ship safety certificate is required to be in force in accordance with the Regulations of 2011,

(e) a high-speed passenger craft in respect of which a High Speed Craft Safety Certificate and a Permit to Operate High Speed Craft outside waters of Categories A, B, C or D are required to be in force in accordance with the Regulations of 2011, or

(f) a Dynamically Supported Craft (in this paragraph referred to as a “DSC”) in respect of which a DSC Construction and Equipment Certificate, and a DSC Permit to Operate High Speed Craft outside waters of Categories A, B, C or D are required to be in force in accordance with the Regulations of 2011;

“ship” means any vessel, whether publicly or privately owned, which is ordinarily engaged in commercial operations, being a vessel other than a fishing vessel, warship or naval auxiliary;

“shipowner”, in relation to a ship, has the meaning assigned to it by the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 adopted at Geneva on 23 February 2006 and includes an owner within the meaning of the Act of 2010.

Application

3. These Regulations apply to all seagoing Irish ships wherever they may be.

Approval of Minister

4. (1) The Minister—

(a) may approve a person to be an approved doctor,

(b) may approve a person to be an independent medical referee,

(c) may designate a place to be a referral centre to assess colour vision for the purpose of providing an approved doctor with the information necessary to issue a medical fitness certificate,

(d) shall specify medical standards and eyesight and hearing standards as are required for the issue of a medical fitness certificate under Regulation 6, and

(e) shall approve a standard form to be an “approved form”.

(2) The Minister may revoke an approval under paragraph (1) (a) or (b).

(3) The Minister may publish notice, by way of Marine Notice, of any of the decisions reached by the Minister under paragraph (1).

Employment of seafarers

5. (1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), a shipowner or master shall not employ or continue to employ a seafarer on board a seagoing Irish ship, unless the seafarer is the holder of a medical fitness certificate that records the seafarer as fit to carry out the work for which he or she is to be employed and that is in force.

(2) Where the medical fitness certificate of a seafarer expires during the course of a voyage, a shipowner or master may continue to employ the seafarer on board a seagoing Irish ship—

(a) for a period not exceeding 3 months from the date of expiry of the medical fitness certificate, or

(b) until the first port of call at which it is possible for the seafarer to be examined and obtain a medical fitness certificate in accordance with these Regulations,

whichever is the sooner.

(3) The Minister may, in urgent cases and subject to paragraph (4), permit a seafarer, who is the holder of a medical fitness certificate which expired within a month before the date on which the seafarer joined a ship to which these Regulations apply, to be employed on board the ship, despite the expiry of the certificate, until the next port of call at which it is possible for the seafarer to obtain a medical fitness certificate in accordance with these Regulations.

(4) A permission under paragraph (3) shall not exceed a period of 3 months.

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