Ensuring occupational safety and health onboard: Key considerations

The working, living, and training environments on ships must be safe and hygienic. The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC 2006) requires Administrations to promulgate national guidelines for the management of occupational safety and health on board ships.

Reasonable precautions should be taken to prevent occupational accidents, injuries, and diseases on board ships. These precautions include measures to reduce or eliminate exposure to harmful levels of ambient factors and chemicals, as well as risks of injury or disease arising from the use of equipment and machinery.

The shipowner is responsible for the health and safety of all persons on board. At the same time, every person employed on board must take reasonable care for their own health and safety, as well as that of others.

In particular, the shipowner should:

• develop and implement an occupational safety and health policy program in order to prevent occupational accident injuries and diseases, and particularly the safety and health of seafarers under the age of 18.

Unless trained and certified, no person under the age of 18 should be employed, engaged or work in a way which is likely to jeopardize their health or safety as indicated below:
• lifting, moving or carrying heavy loads or objects;
• entry into boilers, tanks and cofferdams;
• exposure to harmful noise and vibration levels;
• operating hoisting and other power machinery and tools, or acting as
signallers to operators of such equipment;
• handling mooring or tow lines or anchoring equipment;
• rigging;
• work aloft or on deck in heavy weather;
• night watch duties;
• servicing of electrical equipment;
• exposure to potentially harmful materials, or harmful physical agents such as
• dangerous or toxic substances and ionizing radiations;
• cleaning of catering machinery; and
• handling or taking charge of ships’ boats
• working with heat or fire (such as welding and flame-cutting)
• work in enclosed or confined spaces
• work outboard
• night work
• work as a ship’s cook

A written statement of  general policy with respect to health and safety on board and the organization and arrangements should be brought to the attention of all seafarers. The policy may be subject to changes. The seafarers should be advised if there are any changes to the policy.

• identify and assess risk evaluation taking into account experience and appropriate statistical information

• provide reasonable precautions in order to prevent occupational accidents, injuries and diseases, 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 carriage of cargo and the use of equipment and machinery on board ships

• undertake periodic safety inspections at least once every three (3) months or more frequently if there has been substantial changes in the conditions of work as well as to report and correct unsafe conditions

• investigate, record and report on board occupational accidents.

• investigate and record on board near occupational accidents, analyze their root causes and advise the persons concerned throughout the company

Risk assessment as a key responsibility of shipowners

It is the shipowner’s responsibility to ensure that risk assessments are carried out on board with the aim of reducing risks to an acceptable minimum. When assessing risks, the following matters should be considered:

• safety and health of any seafarers under the age of 18 general and basic provisions;
• structural features of the ship, including means of access and asbestos-related risks;
• machinery;
• the effects of any extremely low or high temperature of any surfaces with which seafarers may be in contact;
• the effects of noise in the work place and in shipboard accommodation;
• the effects of vibration in the workplace and in shipboard accommodation;• the effects of ambient factors, other than noise and vibration, in the workplace and in shipboard accommodation, including tobacco smoke;
• special safety measures on and below deck;
• loading and unloading equipment;
• fire prevention and fire-fighting;
• anchors, chains and lines;
• dangerous cargo and ballast;
• personal protective equipment for seafarers;
• work in enclosed spaces;
• physical and mental effects of fatigue;
• the effects of drug and alcohol dependency;
• HIV / AIDS protection and prevention;
• emergency and accident response; and
• safety of sub-contractors