Merchant Shipping (Crew Accommodation) Regulations

Unless otherwise expressly provided, these Regulations —

Regulations 7(5) and 13(4B) and (12) shall not apply to a new MLC ship of less than 200 tons.

The requirements for minimum floor areas in regulation 10(5A), (5C), (5D), (5E) and (5H) shall not apply to a new MLC ship of less than 200 tons.

The Director may exempt any ship from any provision of these Regulations either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as he thinks fit if he is satisfied that —

Subject to paragraph (3), before the construction of a ship is begun, a plan of the ship, showing the location and general arrangement of the crew accommodation, shall be submitted to the Director or an authorised organisation for approval.

Subject to paragraph (3), before —

Where —

The survey of ships, so far as regards the enforcement of the provisions of these Regulations, shall be carried out by a surveyor of ships or an authorised organisation.

A ship shall be surveyed on every occasion when —

After a survey under paragraph (2), a ship which complies with these Regulations shall be issued with a crew accommodation certificate by the Director or an authorised organisation.

The crew accommodation certificate issued under paragraph (3) —

When a ship is exempted from any of these Regulations under regulation 3, an exemption certificate for crew accommodation in respect of the ship shall be issued by the Director or an authorised organisation.

The exemption certificate for crew accommodation issued under paragraph (5) —

The certificates issued under paragraphs (3) and (5) shall be posted up in a prominent and accessible place in the ship.

The location, means of access, structure and arrangement in relation to other spaces of crew accommodation shall be such as to ensure adequate security, protection against weather and sea, and insulation from heat or cold, or undue noise or effluvia from other spaces and for new MLC ships shall further be in accordance with the requirements of the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) Act 2014 and shall be guided by any code of practice issued or approved under section 44 of that Act.

In a new MLC ship, the materials used to construct internal bulkheads, panelling and sheeting, floors and joints shall be suitable and conducive to ensuring a healthy environment for the seafarers.

There shall be no direct openings into sleeping rooms from spaces for cargo and machinery or from galleys, lamp and paint rooms, or from engine, deck and other bulk storerooms, drying rooms, communal wash places or water closets. That part of the bulkhead separating such places from sleeping rooms and external bulkheads shall be efficiently constructed of steel or other approved material and shall be watertight and gastight.

External bulkheads of sleeping rooms and mess rooms shall be adequately insulated. All machinery casings and all boundary bulkheads of galleys and other spaces in which heat is produced shall be adequately insulated where there is a possibility of resulting heat effects in adjoining accommodation or passageways. Care shall also be taken to provide protection from heat effects of steam and/or hot water service pipes.

Internal bulkheads shall be of approved material which is not likely to harbour vermin.

Sleeping rooms, mess rooms, recreation rooms and alley-ways in the crew accommodation space shall be adequately insulated to prevent condensation or overheating.

Main steam and exhaust pipes for winches and similar gear shall not pass through crew accommodation nor, whenever technically possible, through alley-ways leading to crew accommodation; where they do pass through such alley-ways they shall be adequately insulated and encased.

Inside panelling or sheeting shall be of material with a surface easily kept clean. Tongued and grooved boarding or any other form of construction likely to harbour vermin shall not be used.

The construction of the accommodation shall comply with the relevant provisions of the Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Regulations (Rg 11) (as amended from time to time) as regards the fire-prevention or fire-retarding measures.

The wall surface and deckheads in sleeping rooms and mess rooms shall be made of a material with a surface easily kept clean and, if painted, shall be light in colour. Lime wash must not be used.

The wall surfaces shall be renewed or restored as necessary.

The decks in all crew accommodation shall be of approved material and construction and shall provide a surface impervious to damp and easily kept clean and which in a new MLC ship shall be a non-slip surface.

Where the floorings are of composition, the joinings with sides shall be rounded to avoid crevices.

Sufficient drainage shall be provided.

Crew accommodation shall be adequately ventilated.

The system of ventilation shall be controlled so as to maintain the air in a satisfactory condition and to ensure a sufficiency of air movement in all conditions of weather and climate.

Ships other than new MLC ships regularly engaged on voyages in the tropics and the Persian Gulf shall be equipped with both mechanical means of ventilation and electric fans, except that one only of these means need be adopted in spaces where this ensures satisfactory ventilation.

Except for those ships normally employed in the cold waters of the northern or southern hemispheres, ships other than new MLC ships engaged outside the tropics shall be equipped with either mechanical means of ventilation or electric fans.

All new MLC ships, except for ships normally employed in the cold waters of the northern or southern hemispheres, shall be equipped with air-conditioning in all sleeping rooms, separate radio rooms and centralised machinery rooms.

Power for the operation of the aids to the ventilation required by paragraphs (3), (4) and (5) shall, when practicable, be available at all times when the crew is living or working on board and when conditions so require.

Air-conditioning systems provided in all new MLC ships shall be controlled so as to maintain the air in a satisfactory condition and to ensure a sufficiency of air movement in all conditions of weather and climate and shall not produce excessive noise or vibration.

An adequate system of heating the crew accommodation shall be provided except in ships engaged exclusively in voyages in the tropics or the Persian Gulf.

The heating system shall, when practicable, be in operation at all times when the crew is living or working on board and when conditions require its use.

In any ship in which a heating system is required, the heating shall be by means of steam, hot water, warm air or electricity, except that in new MLC ships heating shall not be by means of steam in any crew accommodation area.

In any ship in which heating is provided by a stove, measures shall be taken to ensure that the stove is of sufficient size and is properly installed and guarded and that the air is not fouled.

The heating system shall be capable of maintaining the temperature in crew accommodation at a satisfactory level under normal conditions of weather and climate likely to be met with on service. Heat load calculations shall be submitted to the Director or an authorised organisation for approval to show that the heating system is capable of ensuring that the temperature in crew accommodation can be maintained at 21 °C when the ventilation system provided for those rooms is working so as to supply at least 25 m3 of fresh air per hour for each person for whom that room is designed and when the ambient temperature is -1 °C.

Radiators and other heating apparatus shall be so placed and, where necessary, shielded as to avoid risk of fire or danger or discomfort to the occupants.

Subject to such special arrangements as may be permitted by the Director in passenger ships, sleeping rooms and mess rooms shall be properly lighted by natural light and shall be provided with adequate artificial light.

All crew spaces shall be adequately lighted. The minimum standard for natural lighting in living rooms shall be such as to permit a person with a normal vision to read on a clear day an ordinary newspaper in any part of the space available for free movement. When it is not possible to provide adequate natural lighting, artificial lighting of the above minimum standard shall be provided.

In all ships, electric lights shall be provided in the crew accommodation. If there are not 2 independent sources of electricity for lighting, additional lighting shall be provided by properly constructed lamps or lighting apparatus for emergency use.

Artificial lighting shall be so disposed as to give the maximum benefit to the occupants of the room.

In sleeping rooms, an electric reading lamp shall be installed at the head of each berth.

Sleeping rooms shall be situated above load line amidships or aft.

In exceptional cases, the Director may, if the size, type or intended service of the ship render any other location unreasonable or impracticable, permit the location of sleeping rooms in the fore part of the ship, but in no case forward of the collision bulkhead.

In passenger ships and new MLC ships which are special purpose ships, the Director may, on condition that satisfactory arrangements are made for lighting and ventilation, permit the location of sleeping rooms below the load line, but in no case immediately beneath working alley-ways.

In a ship other than a new MLC ship, the floor area per person of sleeping rooms intended for ratings shall be not less than —

In the case of ships other than new MLC ships in which are employed such groups of ratings as necessitate the employment of a substantially larger number of ratings than would otherwise be employed, the Director may, in respect of such groups, reduce the minimum floor area of sleeping rooms per person, subject to the conditions that —

In new MLC ships, the floor area of single berth sleeping rooms shall not be less than —

Where the Director is satisfied that it is necessary in order to provide single berth sleeping rooms on new MLC ships of less than 3,000 tons, or new MLC ships which are passenger ships or special purpose ships, the Director may allow a reduced minimum floor area for single berth sleeping rooms in such ships.

In the case of a new MLC ship of less than 3,000 tons, other than a passenger ship or special purpose ship, the minimum floor area for double berth sleeping rooms shall be 7 m2.

In a new MLC ship which is a passenger ship or special purpose ship, the floor area of sleeping rooms intended for ratings shall not be less than —

In a new MLC ship which is a passenger ship, the floor area of sleeping rooms intended for ratings shall not be less than 3.6 m2 per person in a room occupied by more than 4 persons.

In new MLC ships, the master, chief engineer and chief navigating officer, and when practicable, the second engineer officer, shall be provided with, in addition to their sleeping rooms, an adjoining sitting room, day room or any additional space which may be used for the same purposes.

The Director may exempt new MLC ships of less than 3,000 tons from paragraph (5F).

When it is not possible to provide private sitting rooms or day rooms for the master or officers —

Space occupied by berths and lockers, chests of drawers and seats shall be included in the measurement of the floor area. Small or irregularly shaped spaces which do not add effectively to the space available for free movement and cannot be used for installing furniture shall be excluded.

The clear head room in crew sleeping rooms of ships other than new MLC ships shall not be less than 1.90 m.

The clear head room in crew sleeping rooms of new MLC ships shall not be less than 2.03 m.

Except in ships of less than 800 tons, there shall be a sufficient number of sleeping rooms to provide a separate room or rooms for each department.

The number of persons allowed to occupy sleeping rooms of ships other than new MLC ships which are not passenger ships shall not exceed the following maxima: (a)officers in charge of a department, navigating and engineer officers in charge of a watch and senior radio officers or operators — one person per room; (b)other officers — one person per room wherever possible, and in no case more than 2; (c)petty officers — one or 2 persons per room, and in no case more than 2; (d)other ratings — 2 or 3 persons per room wherever possible, and in no case more than 4.

Subject to paragraph (9B), the number of persons allowed to occupy sleeping rooms of new MLC ships, which are not passenger ships, shall not exceed one person per room.

The Director may exempt new MLC ships, of less than 3,000 tons or which are special purpose ships, from paragraph (9A) except that the number of persons that may be permitted to occupy sleeping rooms shall not exceed the following maximum number of persons: (a)for officers in charge of a department, navigating and engineer officers in charge of a watch and senior radio officers or operators — one person per room;

With a view to ensuring adequate and more comfortable accommodation, the Director may grant permission to accommodate up to 10 ratings per sleeping room in the case of certain passenger ships.

The maximum number of persons to be accommodated in any sleeping room shall be indelibly and legibly marked in some place in the room where it can conveniently be seen.

Members of the crew shall be provided with individual berths.

Berths shall not be placed side by side in such a way that access to one berth can be obtained only over another.

Berths shall not be arranged in tiers of more than 2. In the case of berths placed along the ship's side, there shall be only a single tier where a sidelight is situated above a berth.

The lower berth in a double tier shall be not less than 30 cm above the floor. The upper berth shall be placed approximately midway between the bottom of the lower berth and the lower side of the deckhead beams.

The minimum inside dimensions of a berth in a ship other than a new MLC ship shall be 1.90 m by 0.68 m and the minimum inside dimensions of a berth in a new MLC ship shall be 1.98 m by 0.8 m.

The framework and the lee-board, if any, of a berth shall be of approved material, hard, smooth, and not likely to corrode or to harbour vermin.

If tubular frames are used for the construction of berths, they shall be completely sealed and without perforations which would give access to vermin.

Each berth shall be fitted with a spring bottom or a spring mattress and with a mattress of approved material. Stuffing of straw or other material likely to harbour vermin shall not be used.

When one berth is placed over another, a dust-proof bottom of wood, canvas or other approved material shall be fitted beneath the spring bottom of the upper berth.

Sleeping rooms shall be so planned and equipped as to ensure reasonable comfort for the occupants and to facilitate tidiness, and in new MLC ships shall as far as practicable be attached to private sanitary facilities.

The furniture shall include a clothes locker for each occupant. The clothes lockers shall be not less than 1.52 m in height and of a cross-section area of 0.193 m2 and shall be fitted with a shelf and a locking means, except that in a new MLC ship the clothes locker shall have a minimum volume of 0.475 m3.

Each sleeping room shall be provided with a table or desk, which may be of the fixed, dropleaf or slide-out type, and with comfortable seating accommodation as necessary.

The furniture shall be of smooth, hard material not liable to warp or corrode.

The drawer or equivalent space for each occupant shall be not less than 0.056 m3.

In new MLC ships, the drawer or equivalent space for each occupant shall —

Sleeping rooms shall be fitted with curtains for the side-lights.

Sleeping rooms shall be fitted with a mirror, small cabinets for toilet requisites, a book rack and a sufficient number of coat hooks.

As far as practicable, berthing of crew members shall be so arranged that watches are separated and that no day men share a room with watch-keepers.

In new MLC ships, sleeping rooms for male crew shall be separated from sleeping rooms for female crew.

Adequate mess room accommodation shall be provided in all ships either by the provision of separate mess rooms for each group of the crew or a single combined mess room for all members of the crew.

The dimensions and equipment of each mess room shall be sufficient for the number of persons likely to use it at any one time.

The floor area of each mess room in a new MLC ship, other than a passenger ship, shall be not less than 1.5 m2 per person of the planned seating capacity.

Each mess room in a new MLC ship shall be equipped with —

Mess rooms shall be equipped with tables and seats of an approved type, sufficient for the number of persons likely to use them at any one time.

The Director may permit such exceptions to this regulation concerning mess room accommodation as may be necessary to meet the special conditions in passenger ships.

Mess rooms shall be located apart from the sleeping rooms and as close as practicable to the galley.

The Director may exempt new MLC ships of less than 3,000 tons from paragraph (5).

Where available pantries are not accessible to mess rooms, adequate lockers for mess utensils and proper facilities for washing utensils shall be provided.

The tops of tables and seats shall be of damp-resisting material, without cracks and capable of being easily cleaned.

In all ships, a space or spaces to which the crew can have access when off duty shall be provided on an open deck. The space or spaces shall be of adequate area, having regard to the size of the ship and the crew.

Recreation accommodation, conveniently situated and appropriately furnished, shall be provided for officers and for ratings. Where this is not provided separately from the mess rooms, the latter shall be planned, furnished and equipped to give recreational facilities.

Recreation accommodation on all new MLC ships shall be furnished with a television, book-case with reading materials and facilities for reading, writing and, where practicable, games.

All new MLC ships shall provide access to ship to shore telephone communications and electronic mail and Internet facilities, as far as reasonably practicable.

If any fee is charged for the use of the communications or facilities referred to in paragraph (4), the fee shall be of a reasonable amount.

Sufficient sanitary accommodation, including wash basins and tubs and/or shower baths, shall be provided in all ships.

The following minimum number of separate water closets shall be provided: (a)in ships of less than 800 tons — 3; (b)in ships of 800 tons or more, but less than 3,000 tons — 4;

Subject to the provisions of paragraph (4), the sanitary accommodation provided shall consist of separate sanitary accommodation for males and females if females are working or living on board, and shall in all new MLC ships be easily accessible.

In all new MLC ships, sanitary facilities shall be provided within easy access of the navigating bridge and the machinery space or near the engine room control centre.

The Director may exempt new MLC ships of less than 3,000 tons from paragraph (3A).

In all ships other than new MLC ships, sanitary facilities for all members of the crew who do not occupy rooms to which private facilities are attached shall be provided on the following scale: (a)one tub and/or shower bath for every 8 persons or less; (b)one water closet for every 8 persons or less; (c)one wash basin for every 6 persons or less, except that when the number of persons exceeds an even multiple of the specified number by less than one-half of the specified number, this surplus may be ignored for the purpose of this paragraph.

In all new MLC ships, sanitary facilities for all members of the crew who do not occupy rooms to which private facilities are attached shall be provided on the following scale:

In all new MLC ships, which are not passenger ships, each sleeping room shall be provided with a wash basin with cold fresh water and hot fresh water, except where such a wash basin is situated in a private bathroom provided.

The Director may allow special arrangements instead of the requirements under paragraphs (3A), (4A) and (4B) or a reduction in the number of facilities required under those paragraphs, in their application to a new MLC ship which is a passenger ship normally engaged on voyages of 4 hours or less.

When the total number of the crew exceeds 100 and in passenger vessels normally engaged on voyages of not more than 4 hours’ duration, consideration may be given by the Director to special arrangements or a reduction in the number of facilities required.

Cold fresh water and hot fresh water or means of heating water shall be available in all communal wash places —

Wash basins and tub baths shall be of adequate size and constructed of approved material with a smooth surface not liable to crack, flake or corrode.

All water closets shall have ventilation to the open air, independently of any other part of the accommodation.

All water closets shall be of a pattern approved by the Director or an authorised organisation and shall be provided with an ample flush of water, available at all times and independently controllable.

Soil pipes and waste pipes shall be of adequate dimensions and shall be so constructed as to minimise the risk of obstruction and to facilitate cleaning.

Sanitary accommodation intended for the use of more than one person shall comply with the following requirements: (a)floors shall be of approved durable material, easily cleaned and impervious to damp, and shall be properly drained; (b)bulkheads shall be of steel or other approved material and shall be watertight up to at least 23 cm above the level of the deck; (c)the accommodation shall be sufficiently lighted, heated and ventilated; (d)water closets shall be situated convenient to, but separate from, sleeping rooms and wash rooms, without direct access from the sleeping rooms or from a passage between sleeping rooms and water closets to which there is no other access, except that this requirement shall not apply where a water closet is located in a compartment between 2 sleeping rooms having a total of not more than 4 persons; (e)where there is more than one water closet in a compartment, it shall be sufficiently screened to ensure privacy.

In all ships, facilities for washing and drying clothes shall be provided on a scale appropriate to the size of the crew and the normal duration of the voyage.

In all ships other than new MLC ships, the facilities for washing clothes shall include suitable sinks, which may be installed in wash rooms, if separate laundry accommodation is not reasonably practicable, with an adequate supply of cold fresh water and hot fresh water or means of heating water.

In all new MLC ships, the facilities for washing clothes shall include —

The facilities for drying clothes shall be provided in a compartment separate from sleeping rooms and mess rooms, adequately ventilated and heated and equipped with lines or other fittings for hanging clothes.

In any ship carrying a crew of 15 or more and engaged in a voyage of more than 3 days’ duration, separate hospital accommodation shall be provided. The Director may relax this requirement in respect of vessels engaged in coastal trade.

The hospital accommodation shall be suitably situated, so that —

The arrangement of the entrance, berths, lighting, ventilation, heating and water supply shall be designed to ensure the comfort, and to facilitate the treatment, of the occupants.

Hospitals shall be provided with one berth for every 50 or fraction of 50 members of the crew, and one berth for every additional 12 crew members or fraction thereof, above 50.

Water closet accommodation in all ships shall be provided for the exclusive use of the occupants of the hospital accommodation, either as part of the accommodation or in close proximity thereto and in the case of new MLC ships, water closet accommodation shall comprise a minimum of one toilet, one wash basin and one tub or shower.

Hospital accommodation shall not be used for any purpose other than medical purposes.

An approved medicine chest with readily understandable instructions shall be carried in every ship which does not carry a doctor.

Sufficiently and adequately ventilated accommodation for the hanging of oil skins shall be provided outside, but convenient to, the sleeping rooms.

In ships regularly engaged on voyages to mosquito-infested ports, provision shall be made to protect the crews’ quarters against the admission of mosquitoes by the fitting of suitable screens to side scuttles, ventilators and doors to the open deck.

Where separate facilities for engine department personnel to change their clothes are provided on a new MLC ship, they should be —

All new MLC ships shall be provided with separate offices or a common ship’s office for use by deck and engine departments.

The Director may exempt new MLC ships of less than 3,000 tons from paragraph (4).

In the case of the ships mentioned in regulation 10(5), the Director may, in respect of the members of the crew thereof, modify the requirements laid down in the foregoing regulations as far as may be necessary to take account of their distinctive national habits and customs and in particular may make special arrangements concerning the number of persons occupying sleeping rooms and concerning mess room and sanitary facilities.

Where special arrangements are made under paragraph (1), the modified requirements shall be subject to the specifications set out in regulation 10(1) and (2) and by the minimum sleeping space requirements prescribed for such groups of ratings in regulation 10(5).

In the case of the ships referred to in regulation 10(5), the hospital, dining, bathing and sanitary facilities shall be provided and maintained on a standard, in regard to their quantity and practical usefulness, equal or comparable to that which obtains aboard all other ships of similar type.

Crew accommodation shall be maintained in a clean and decently habitable condition and shall be kept free of goods and stores that are not the personal property of the occupants.

The master, or an officer specially deputed for the purpose by him, accompanied by one or more members of the crew, shall inspect all crew accommodation at intervals of not more than one week. The results of each such inspection shall be recorded.