Paragraph 17 Merchant Shipping (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) Regulations 2022

After regulation 16 (seafarers on a ship subject to the IGF Code – advanced training), insert—

“Seafarers on a ship operating or intending to operate in polar waters – basic training

16A.

(1)

This regulation applies to the seafarers specified in paragraph (2) on board—

(a)

a passenger ship; or

(b)

a cargo ship of 500 GT or more,

operating, or intending to operate, in polar waters in the ice conditions specified in that paragraph.

(2)

The seafarers and the ice conditions mentioned in paragraph (1) are—

(a)

subject to paragraph (3), where a ship operates in open waters but not in other waters—

(i)

the master;

(ii)

a chief mate;

(iii)

an officer in charge of a navigational watch; and

(b)

where a ship operates in other waters, an officer in charge of a navigational watch.

(3)

Paragraph (2)(a) does not apply to a cargo ship other than a tanker.

(4)

Subject to regulation 16C (seafarers on a ship operating or intending to operate in polar waters – replacement with other persons), a person to whom this regulation applies must hold a certificate of proficiency in basic training for service on ships operating in polar waters.

(5)

The Secretary of State, or an approved training provider, may issue a certificate of proficiency required by paragraph (4) only to a person who meets the criteria specified in STCW Regulation V/4, paragraph 2 (basic training for seafarers on ships operating or intending to operate in polar waters).

Seafarers on a ship operating or intending to operate in polar waters – advanced training

16B.

(1)

This regulation applies to the master and a chief mate on board—

(a)

a passenger ship; or

(b)

a cargo ship of 500 GT or more,

operating, or intending to operate, in polar waters in the ice conditions specified in paragraph (2).

(2)

The ice conditions mentioned in paragraph (1) are other waters.

(3)

Subject to regulation 16C (seafarers on a ship operating or intending to operate in polar waters – replacement with other persons), a person to whom this regulation applies must hold a certificate of proficiency in advanced training for service on ships operating in polar waters.

(4)

The Secretary of State, or an approved training provider, may issue a certificate of proficiency required by paragraph (3) only to a person who meets the criteria specified in STCW Regulation V/4, paragraph 4 (advanced training for seafarers on ships operating or intending to operate in polar waters).

Seafarers on a ship operating or intending to operate in polar waters – replacement with other persons

16C.

(1)

Where each of the conditions specified in paragraph (2) is satisfied, another person may replace a master, chief mate or officer in charge of a navigational watch on a ship operating in polar waters where such master, chief mate or officer in charge of a navigational watch is not qualified in accordance with regulation 16A(4) or 16B(3) (seafarers on a ship operating or intending to operate in polar waters – basic training and advanced training), as the case may be.

(2)

The conditions referred to in paragraph (1) are that—

(a)

the person replacing a seafarer mentioned in paragraph (1) holds—

(i)

a certificate of competency or a certificate of equivalent competency issued in accordance with STCW Regulation II/2 (mandatory minimum requirements for certification of masters and chief mates on ships of 500 GT or more); and

(ii)

a certificate of proficiency issued in accordance with STCW Regulation V/4, paragraph 4 (advanced training for seafarers on ships operating or intending to operate in polar waters);

(b)

the ship is manned with an adequate number of seafarers trained in accordance with regulation 16A or 16B for the purpose of undertaking safe navigational, engineering and radio watches;

(c)

the person is provided with rest periods which comply with the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Hours of Work) Regulations 2018^f1;

(d)

in the case of a passenger ship or a tanker, when operating in polar waters other than open waters or bergy waters, the master, chief mate and officers of a navigational watch must each hold a certificate of proficiency in basic training for service on ships operating in polar waters;

(e)

in the case of a cargo ship other than a tanker, when operating in polar waters with ice concentration of more than 20 per cent, the master, chief mate and officers of a navigational watch must each hold a certificate of proficiency in basic training for service on ships operating in polar waters.

(3)

The deployment of a person in place of a master, chief mate or officer of a navigational watch in the circumstances described in paragraph (1) does not relieve the master, a chief mate or an officer of a navigational watch from their duties and obligations for the safety of the ship.

(4)

For the purposes of paragraph (2)(d), “bergy waters” means an area of freely navigable water in which ice of land origin is present in concentrations of less than 10 per cent and where, if sea ice is present, the total concentration of all ice does not exceed 10 per cent.”.