Regulation 4.3 – Health and safety
protection and accident prevention
Purpose: To ensure that seafarers’ work environment
on board ships promotes occupational safety and health
1 Each Member shall ensure that seafarers on ships
that fly its flag are provided with occupational health protection
and live, work and train on board ship in a safe and hygienic environment.
2 Each Member shall develop and promulgate national
guidelines for the management of occupational safety and health on
board ships that fly its flag, after consultation with representative
shipowners’ and seafarers’ organizations and taking into
account applicable codes, guidelines and standards recommended by
international organizations, national administrations and maritime
industry organizations.
3 Each Member shall adopt laws and regulations
and other measures addressing the matters specified in the Code, taking
into account relevant international instruments, and set standards
for occupational safety and health protection and accident prevention
on ships that fly its flag.
Standard A4.3 – Health and safety protection and accident
prevention
1 The laws and regulations and other measures
to be adopted in accordance with Regulation
4.3, paragraph 3, shall include the following subjects:
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(a) the adoption and effective implementation
and promotion of occupational safety and health policies and programmes
on ships that fly the Member’s flag, including risk evaluation
as well as training and instruction of seafarers;
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(b) reasonable precautions to prevent occupational
accidents, injuries and diseases on board ship, including measures
to reduce and prevent the risk of exposure to harmful levels of ambient
factors and chemicals as well as the risk of injury or disease that
may arise from the use of equipment and machinery on board ships;
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(c) on-board programmes for the prevention of
occupational accidents, injuries and diseases and for continuous improvement
in occupational safety and health protection, involving seafarers’
representatives and all other persons concerned in their implementation,
taking account of preventive measures, including engineering and design
control, substitution of processes and procedures for collective and
individual tasks, and the use of personal protective equipment; and
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(d) requirements for inspecting, reporting and
correcting unsafe conditions and for investigating and reporting on-board
occupational accidents.
2 The provisions referred to in paragraph 1 of
this Standard shall:
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(a) take account of relevant international instruments
dealing with occupational safety and health protection in general
and with specific risks, and address all matters relevant to the prevention
of occupational accidents, injuries and diseases that may be applicable
to the work of seafarers and particularly those which are specific
to maritime employment;
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(b) clearly specify the obligation of shipowners,
seafarers and others concerned to comply with the applicable standards
and with the ship’s occupational safety and health policy and
programme with special attention being paid to the safety and health
of seafarers under the age of 18;
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(c) specify the duties of the master or a person
designated by the master, or both, to take specific responsibility
for the implementation of and compliance with the ship’s occupational
safety and health policy and programme; and
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(d) specify the authority of the ship’s
seafarers appointed or elected as safety representatives to participate
in meetings of the ship’s safety committee. Such a committee
shall be established on board a ship on which there are five or more
seafarers.
3 The laws and regulations and other measures
referred to in Regulation 4.3, paragraph
3, shall be regularly reviewed in consultation with the representatives
of the shipowners’ and seafarers’ organizations and, if
necessary, revised to take account of changes in technology and research
in order to facilitate continuous improvement in occupational safety
and health policies and programmes and to provide a safe occupational
environment for seafarers on ships that fly the Member’s flag.
4 Compliance with the requirements of applicable
international instruments on the acceptable levels of exposure to
workplace hazards on board ships and on the development and implementation
of ships’ occupational safety and health policies and programmes
shall be considered as meeting the requirements of this Convention.
5 The competent authority shall ensure that:
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(a) occupational accidents, injuries and diseases
are adequately reported, taking into account the guidance provided
by the International Labour Organization with respect to the reporting
and recording of occupational accidents and diseases;
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(b) comprehensive statistics of such accidents
and diseases are kept, analysed and published and, where appropriate,
followed up by research into general trends and into the hazards identified;
and
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(c) occupational accidents are investigated.
6 Reporting and investigation of occupational
safety and health matters shall be designed to ensure the protection
of seafarers’ personal data, and shall take account of the guidance
provided by the International Labour Organization on this matter.
7 The competent authority shall cooperate with
shipowners’ and seafarers’ organizations to take measures
to bring to the attention of all seafarers information concerning
particular hazards on board ships, for instance, by posting official
notices containing relevant instructions.
8 The competent authority shall require that shipowners
conducting risk evaluation in relation to management of occupational
safety and health refer to appropriate statistical information from
their ships and from general statistics provided by the competent
authority.
Guideline B4.3 – Health and safety protection and accident
prevention
Guideline B4.3.1 – Provisions on occupational accidents,
injuries and diseases
1 The provisions required under Standard A4.3 should
take into account the ILO code of practice entitled Accident prevention on
board ship at sea and in port, 1996, and subsequent versions and other
related ILO and other international standards and guidelines and codes of practice
regarding occupational safety and health protection, including any exposure levels
that they may identify. Account should also be taken of the latest version of the
Guidance on eliminating shipboard harassment and bullying jointly
published by the International Chamber of Shipping and the International Transport
Workers' Federation.
2 The competent authority should ensure that the
national guidelines for the management of occupational safety and
health address the following matters, in particular:
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(a) general and basic provisions;
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(b) structural features of the ship, including
means of access and asbestos-related risks;
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(c) machinery;
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(d) the effects of the extremely low or high temperature
of any surfaces with which seafarers may be in contact;
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(e) the effects of noise in the workplace and
in shipboard accommodation;
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(f) the effects of vibration in the workplace
and in shipboard accommodation;
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(g) the effects of ambient factors, other than
those referred to in subparagraphs (e) and (f), in the workplace and
in shipboard accommodation, including tobacco smoke;
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(h) special safety measures on and below deck;
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(i) loading and unloading equipment;
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(j) fire prevention and fire-fighting;
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(k) anchors, chains and lines;
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(l) dangerous cargo and ballast;
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(m) personal protective equipment for seafarers;
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(n) work in enclosed spaces;
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(o) physical and mental effects of fatigue;
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(p) the effects of drug and alcohol dependency;
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(q) HIV/AIDS protection and prevention; and
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(r) emergency and accident response.
3 The assessment of risks and reduction of exposure
on the matters referred to in paragraph 2 of this Guideline should
take account of the physical occupational health effects, including
manual handling of loads, noise and vibration, the chemical and biological
occupational health effects, the mental occupational health effects,
the physical and mental health effects of fatigue, and occupational
accidents. The necessary measures should take due account of the preventive
principle according to which, among other things, combating risk at
the source, adapting work to the individual, especially as regards
the design of workplaces, and replacing the dangerous by the non-dangerous
or the less dangerous, have precedence over personal protective equipment
for seafarers.
4 In addition, the competent authority should
ensure that the implications for health and safety are taken into
account, particularly in the following areas:
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(a) emergency and accident response;
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(b) the effects of drug and alcohol
dependency;
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(c) HIV/AIDS protection and prevention; and
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(d) harassment and bullying.
Guideline B4.3.2 – Exposure to noise
1 The competent authority, in conjunction with
the competent international bodies and with representatives of shipowners’
and seafarers’ organizations concerned, should review on an
ongoing basis the problem of noise on board ships with the objective
of improving the protection of seafarers, in so far as practicable,
from the adverse effects of exposure to noise.
2 The review referred to in paragraph 1 of this
Guideline should take account of the adverse effects of exposure to
excessive noise on the hearing, health and comfort of seafarers and
the measures to be prescribed or recommended to reduce shipboard noise
to protect seafarers. The measures to be considered should include
the following:
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(a) instruction of seafarers in the dangers to
hearing and health of prolonged exposure to high noise levels and
in the proper use of noise protection devices and equipment;
-
(b) provision of approved hearing protection equipment
to seafarers where necessary; and
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(c) assessment of risk and reduction of exposure
levels to noise in all accommodation and recreational and catering
facilities, as well as engine rooms and other machinery spaces.
Guideline B4.3.3 – Exposure to vibration
1 The competent authority, in conjunction with
the competent international bodies and with representatives of shipowners’
and seafarers’ organizations concerned, and taking into account,
as appropriate, relevant international standards, should review on
an ongoing basis the problem of vibration on board ships with the
objective of improving the protection of seafarers, in so far as practicable,
from the adverse effects of vibration.
2 The review referred to in paragraph 1 of this
Guideline should cover the effect of exposure to excessive vibration
on the health and comfort of seafarers and the measures to be prescribed
or recommended to reduce shipboard vibration to protect seafarers.
The measures to be considered should include the following:
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(a) instruction of seafarers in the dangers to
their health of prolonged exposure to vibration;
-
(b) provision of approved personal protective
equipment to seafarers where necessary; and
-
(c) assessment of risks and reduction of exposure
to vibration in all accommodation and recreational and catering facilities
by adopting measures in accordance with the guidance provided by the
ILO code of practice entitled Ambient factors in the workplace,
2001, and any subsequent revisions, taking account of the difference
between exposure in those areas and in the workplace.
Guideline B4.3.4 – Obligations of shipowners
1 Any obligation on the shipowner to provide protective
equipment or other accident prevention safeguards should, in general,
be accompanied by provisions requiring their use by seafarers and
by a requirement for seafarers to comply with the relevant accident
prevention and health protection measures.
2 Account should also be taken of Articles 7 and
11 of the Guarding of Machinery Convention, 1963 (No. 119), and the
corresponding provisions of the Guarding of Machinery Recommendation,
1963 (No. 118), under which the obligation to ensure compliance with
the requirement that machinery in use is properly guarded, and its
use without appropriate guards prevented, rests on the employer, while
there is an obligation on the worker not to use machinery without
the guards being in position nor to make inoperative the guards provided.
Guideline B4.3.5 – Reporting and collection
of statistics
1 All occupational accidents and occupational
injuries and diseases should be reported so that they can be investigated
and comprehensive statistics can be kept, analysed and published,
taking account of protection of the personal data of the seafarers
concerned. Reports should not be limited to fatalities or to accidents
involving the ship.
2 The statistics referred to in paragraph 1 of
this Guideline should record the numbers, nature, causes and effects
of occupational accidents and occupational injuries and diseases,
with a clear indication, as applicable, of the department on board
a ship, the type of accident and whether at sea or in port.
3 Each Member should have due regard to any international
system or model for recording accidents to seafarers which may have
been established by the International Labour Organization.
Guideline B4.3.6 – Investigations
1 The competent authority should undertake investigations
into the causes and circumstances of all occupational accidents and
occupational injuries and diseases resulting in loss of life or serious
personal injury, and such other cases as may be specified in national
laws or regulations.
2 Consideration should be given to including the
following as subjects of investigation:
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(a) working environment, such as working surfaces,
layout of machinery, means of access, lighting and methods of work;
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(b) incidence in different age groups of occupational
accidents and occupational injuries and diseases;
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(c) special physiological or psychological problems
created by the shipboard environment;
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(d) problems arising from physical stress on board
a ship, in particular as a consequence of increased workload;
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(e) problems arising from and effects of
technical developments and their influence on the composition of crews;
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(f) problems arising from any human failures;
and
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(g) problems arising from harassment and
bullying.
Guideline B4.3.7 – National protection and prevention
programmes
1 In order to provide a sound basis for measures
to promote occupational safety and health protection and prevention
of accidents, injuries and diseases which are due to particular hazards
of maritime employment, research should be undertaken into general
trends and into such hazards as are revealed by statistics.
2 The implementation of protection and prevention
programmes for the promotion of occupational safety and health should
be so organized that the competent authority, shipowners and seafarers
or their representatives and other appropriate bodies may play an
active role, including through such means as information sessions,
on-board guidelines on maximum exposure levels to potentially harmful
ambient workplace factors and other hazards or outcomes of a systematic
risk evaluation process. In particular, national or local joint occupational
safety and health protection and accident prevention committees or
ad hoc working parties and on-board committees, on which shipowners’
and seafarers’ organizations concerned are represented, should
be established.
3 Where such activity takes place at company level,
the representation of seafarers on any safety committee on board that
shipowner’s ships should be considered.
Guideline B4.3.8 – Content of protection and prevention
programmes
1 Consideration should be given to including the
following in the functions of the committees and other bodies referred
to in Guideline B4.3.7, paragraph 2:
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(a) the preparation of national guidelines and
policies for occupational safety and health management systems and
for accident prevention provisions, rules and manuals;
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(b) the organization of occupational safety and
health protection and accident prevention training and programmes;
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(c) the organization of publicity on occupational
safety and health protection and accident prevention, including films,
posters, notices and brochures; and
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(d) the distribution of literature and information
on occupational safety and health protection and accident prevention
so that it reaches seafarers on board ships.
2 Relevant provisions or recommendations adopted
by the appropriate national authorities or organizations or international
organizations should be taken into account by those preparing texts
of occupational safety and health protection and accident prevention
measures or recommended practices.
3 In formulating occupational safety and health
protection and accident prevention programmes, each Member should
have due regard to any code of practice concerning the safety and
health of seafarers which may have been published by the International
Labour Organization.
Guideline B4.3.9 – Instruction in occupational safety
and health protection and the prevention of occupational accidents
1 The curriculum for the training referred to
in Standard A4.3, paragraph 1(a), should be reviewed periodically
and brought up to date in the light of development in types and sizes
of ships and in their equipment, as well as changes in manning practices,
nationality, language and the organization of work on board ships.
2 There should be continuous occupational safety
and health protection and accident prevention publicity. Such publicity
might take the following forms:
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(a) educational audiovisual material, such as
films, for use in vocational training centres for seafarers and where
possible shown on board ships;
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(b) display of posters on board ships;
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(c) inclusion in periodicals read by seafarers
of articles on the hazards of maritime employment and on occupational
safety and health protection and accident prevention measures; and
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(d) special campaigns using various publicity
media to instruct seafarers, including campaigns on safe working practices.
3 The publicity referred to in paragraph 2 of
this Guideline should take account of the different nationalities,
languages and cultures of seafarers on board ships.
Guideline B4.3.10 – Safety and health education of
young seafarers
1 Safety and health regulations should refer to
any general provisions on medical examinations before and during employment
and on the prevention of accidents and the protection of health in
employment, which may be applicable to the work of seafarers. Such
regulations should specify measures which will minimize occupational
dangers to young seafarers in the course of their duties.
2 Except where a young seafarer is recognized
as fully qualified in a pertinent skill by the competent authority,
the regulations should specify restrictions on young seafarers undertaking,
without appropriate supervision and instruction, certain types of
work presenting special risk of accident or of detrimental effect
on their health or physical development, or requiring a particular
degree of maturity, experience or skill. In determining the types
of work to be restricted by the regulations, the competent authority
might consider in particular work involving:
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(a) the lifting, moving or carrying of heavy loads
or objects;
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(b) entry into boilers, tanks and cofferdams;
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(c) exposure to harmful noise and vibration levels;
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(d) operating hoisting and other power machinery
and tools, or acting as signallers to operators of such equipment;
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(e) handling mooring or tow lines or anchoring
equipment;
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(f) rigging;
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(g) work aloft or on deck in heavy weather;
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(h) nightwatch duties;
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(i) servicing of electrical equipment;
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(j) exposure to potentially harmful materials,
or harmful physical agents such as dangerous or toxic substances and
ionizing radiations;
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(k) the cleaning of catering machinery; and
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(l) the handling or taking charge of ships’
boats.
3 Practical measures should be taken by the competent
authority or through the appropriate machinery to bring to the attention
of young seafarers information concerning the prevention of accidents
and the protection of their health on board ships. Such measures could
include adequate instruction in courses, official accident prevention
publicity intended for young persons and professional instruction
and supervision of young seafarers.
4 Education and training of young seafarers both
ashore and on board ships should include guidance on the detrimental
effects on their health and well-being of the abuse of alcohol and
drugs and other potentially harmful substances, and the risk and concerns
relating to HIV/AIDS and of other health risk related activities.
Guideline B4.3.11 – International cooperation
1 Members, with the assistance as appropriate
of intergovernmental and other international organizations, should
endeavour, in cooperation with each other, to achieve the greatest
possible uniformity of action for the promotion of occupational safety
and health protection and prevention of accidents.
2 In developing programmes for promoting occupational
safety and health protection and prevention of accidents under Standard
A4.3, each Member should have due regard to relevant codes of practice
published by the International Labour Organization and the appropriate
standards of international organizations.
3 Members should have regard to the need for international
cooperation in the continuous promotion of activity related to occupational
safety and health protection and prevention of occupational accidents.
Such cooperation might take the form of:
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(a) bilateral or multilateral arrangements for
uniformity in occupational safety and health protection and accident
prevention standards and safeguards;
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(b) exchange of information on particular hazards
affecting seafarers and on means of promoting occupational safety
and health protection and preventing accidents;
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(c) assistance in testing of equipment and inspection
according to the national regulations of the flag State;
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(d) collaboration in the preparation and dissemination
of occupational safety and health protection and accident prevention
provisions, rules or manuals;
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(e) collaboration in the production and use of
training aids; and
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(f) joint facilities for, or mutual assistance
in, the training of seafarers in occupational safety and health protection,
accident prevention and safe working practices.
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