# The Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2018, Note: Explanatory note

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations make miscellaneous amendments to the following statutory instruments: the Merchant Shipping (Vessels in Commercial Use for Sport or Pleasure) Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998/2771); the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Medical Certification) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/737); the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Survey and Certification Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/1785); the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Minimum Requirements for Seafarers etc.) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/1613), the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Recruitment and Placement) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/1615) and the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Hours of Work) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/58).
Regulation 2 amends the Merchant Shipping (Vessels in Commercial Use for Sport or Pleasure) Regulations 1998 to exempt vessels which, depending on their size, satisfy the requirements in Marine Guidance Note 490(M) or 491(M), from being subject to the requirements of the statutory instruments listed in Schedule 2 to those Regulations and the requirements in regulations 29(1) and 30 of the Minimum Requirements Regulations.
Regulation 3 amends the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Medical Certification) Regulations 2010, in implementation of Clause 13 of the Annex to Directive 1999/63/EC (O.J. No.L167, 02.07.1999, p.33) as amended by Article 2.4. of Directive 2009/13/EC (O.J. No. L124, 20.05.2009, p.30), to require a person applying for a medical fitness certificate to disclose pre-existing medical conditions and any medication which the person is taking to the medical practitioner to whom the application is made. This regulation also inserts a provision in to the instrument requiring the Secretary of State to review the regulatory provision and publish a report within 5 years of the coming into force of these Regulations (and within every 5 years after that).
Regulation 4 amends the definition of “pleasure vessel” in the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Survey and Certification) Regulations 2013. Regulations 5(2) and 6 make equivalent amendments to the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Minimum Requirements for Seafarers etc.) Regulations 2014 and the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Recruitment and Placement) Regulations 2014.
Regulation 5 amends the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Minimum Requirements for Seafarers etc.) Regulations 2014. Regulation 5(3) applies the appropriate crew accommodation legislation to ships where the crew accommodation has been substantially reconstructed or altered within certain dates.
Regulation 5(4) amends regulation 50 of the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Minimum Requirements for Seafarers etc.) Regulations 2014 to make changes to shipowners’ liability for wages following sickness or injury to seafarers. It provides that shipowners may be liable for wages only for the period of the seafarer’s contract, 16 weeks or the duration of the sickness or injury, whichever is shortest. However, where a person purports to terminate a contract solely or mainly for the purpose of avoiding liability to make a payment under regulations 50, that termination is to have no effect. It also provides that collective bargaining agreements may exclude or limit the operation of certain provisions in regulation 50, provided the collective bargaining agreement provides for payment to be made to incapacitated seafarers for a certain period.
Regulation 7 makes a correction to the definition of “pleasure vessel” in the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Hours of Work) Regulations 2018.
Marine Guidance Notes are published by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (“the MCA”) (an executive agency of the Department for Transport). Copies may be obtained from Marine Guidance Notes, P.O. Box 362, Europa Park, Grays, Essex, RM17 9AY, tel: 01375 484 548, fax: 01375 484 556, or accessed via the MCA’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/maritime-and-coastguard-agency, which also has details of any amendments or replacements.
The Maritime Labour Convention may be downloaded from the website of the International Labour Organisation at www.ilo.org/global/standards/maritime-labour-convention/lang--en/index.htm. Copies of the Maritime Labour Convention may be obtained as a priced publication from www.tsoshop.co.uk, by post form TSO Customer Services, PO Box 29, Norwich, NR3 1GN, tel: +44 (0) 333 202 5070.
A regulatory triage assessment of the effect that these Regulations will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available and is published with the Explanatory Memorandum alongside this instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/242/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/merchant-shipping-maritime-labour-convention-miscellaneous-amendments-regulations-2018/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.

