2. Minimum Qualifications of the Person in Charge of the Vessel (Skipper) and of the Additional Persons Required to be Carried on Board

  2.1.1 All Certificates and Licences of Competency or Service are to be appropriate to the type of vessel in which they are used.

  2.1.2 Any person appointed as a skipper must be a minimum age of 18 years.

 RYA certificates of competency and/or service and other MCA recognised Yachtmaster certificates should carry the endorsement - "valid for vessels of up to 24 metres in length used for commercial purposes".

 A vessel should be manned in accordance with Table 1, Table 2 and 3 of this Annex. Qualification differing from those tabled, but of equal standing or specialist application (e.g. Sailing Barge Masters Certificate), will be considered.

 The controllers of organised activities such as Sailing Schools may submit alternative Qualifications to those listed above. Any such submissions to the MCA will be considered upon their merits.

 Every vessel should carry at least one person holding a Radio Operator's Certificate suitable for the radio equipment on board.

  2.6.1 The skipper and anyone else who is employed on board and who has safety responsibilities should hold an authorised medical fitness certificate. The standard medical fitness certificate for anyone employed at sea is the seafarer's medical certificate (ENG1), available subject to a satisfactory medical examination, from an approved doctor appointed by the Secretary of State, listed in a Merchant Shipping Notice (currently MSN 1777(M)), or on the MCA's website (www.mcga.gov.uk). This medical certificate is acceptable for any area of operation (unless it includes a specific restriction) and is valid for a maximum of two years, in line with international requirements.

  2.6.2 For those employed on small commercial vessels that operate no further than 60 miles from a safe haven (Area Categories 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) the alternative ML5 certificate is acceptable. The ML5 certificate is attached to the ML5 report and may be issued by any registered medical practitioner on the basis of a satisfactory ML5 report. An ML5 certificate is valid for no more than 5 years. The ML5 report form is available from any MCA Marine Office, or may be downloaded from MCA's website (www.mcga.gov.uk)

(Note - Additional guidance on both ENG1 and ML5 certificates can be found in Marine Guidance Note 264)

  2.6.3 As an alternative to Section 2.6.2, for vessels operating no further than 60 miles from a safehaven, the following will be accepted as evidence of medical fitness:-

• CAA commercial pilot's licence,
• HSE diving medical certificate,
• DVLA Group 2 Drivers Licence.

The following conditions will also apply:

• .1 the validity of the evidence of medical fitness would be that of the validity of the parent licence, e.g. one year in the case of a CAA commercial pilot's licence.

• .2 in the case of the HSE diving medical and the DVLA Group 2 licence, evidence of satisfactory colour vision will be required.

• .3 in the case of the above-named equivalent medicals, a declaration will be required, signed by the applicant confirming the following:-

  • i) the contact details of the examining doctor, their consent for the MCA to obtain further medical information if required, and the date of the examination; and

  • ii) that they have not had any medical conditions requiring hospital admission, regular prescribed medication, or continuing medical surveillance, since the alternative medical was carried out; and

  • iii) that they have no conditions limiting strength, stamina, or flexibility, such that they could not cope with emergencies on board, such as recovering someone who has fallen overboard or fighting a fire; and

  • iv) that they will seek revised medical fitness certification and submit this to the Administration if the licence accepted as evidence of medical fitness is revoked for any reason, or if they suffer any illness or accident affecting their fitness to operate the vessel, during the period of the licence/certificate.

 Skippers of vessels to which the Code applies should hold an approved Basic Sea Survival Course Certificate.

 The skipper or a member of the crew of vessels which operate in Area Category 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 should hold an MCA approved Elementary First Aid Certificate (or the First Aid at Sea certificate or Medical First Aid certificate), an RYA First Aid Certificate, or a SeaFish Basic First Aid Certificate, provided use of the medical stores is covered in the course. Skippers of vessels operating in Area Category 0 or 1 should hold a Proficiency in Medical Care Certificate (or its predecessor, the Ship Captain's Medical Certificate) unless another member of the crew holds a medical or nursing qualification of an equivalent or a higher standard. The skipper or nominated first-aider should undertake refresher training at least every five years.

  2.9.1 Fatigue at sea is a serious safety issue and operators should ensure that all vessels certificated under the Code are sufficiently manned to avoid the need to work excessive hours. The skipper is responsible for ensuring, so far as is reasonably practicable, that he/she and all crew members are properly rested when they begin work and obtain adequate rest when not on duty. The minimum hours of rest for anyone employed on board should be not less than:-

• .1 ten hours in any 24-hour period; and

• .2 77 hours in any seven day period.

  2.9.2 These limits should be observed, although exceptions are allowed so long as they are agreed between the skipper and crew members, and provided that their health and safety, and the safety of the vessel, are not compromised. Such exceptions may take account of more frequent or longer leave periods or the granting of compensatory leave for watchkeeping seafarers or seafarers working on board ships on short voyages.

  2.9.3 For boats operating on the basis of watchkeeping arrangements, a schedule of duties should be drawn up setting out the hours of work and rest periods. In drawing up a schedule, factors to be taken into account may include:

• .1 type of operation;

• .2 details of the watchkeeping arrangements;

• .3 the total workload;

• .4 the seriousness of irregular working hours and their contribution to causing fatigue and the importance of scheduling reasonably stable working hours.

  2.9.4 The Maritime Working Time Directive also provides anyone employed at sea with an entitlement to a period of leave of at least four weeks' paid leave in each year.

  2.10.1 The Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/2962) apply wherever "workers" are employed on ships. Under these regulations all employers have a duty to ensure the health and safety of workers and others, so far as is reasonably practicable. To fulfil this duty, employers are required to carry out "a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks of the health and safety of workers arising in the normal course of their activities or duties". The concept of risk assessments is relatively simple, and follows these basic steps:-

• .1 identify the hazards and personnel at risk;

• .2 assess the chances of a hazardous event occurring;

• .3 assess the severity or consequences; and

• .4 if the combined risk and severity is too great, some action must be taken to reduce the risk to as low a level as reasonably practical.

Further guidance on the application of the regulations and the assessment of risk can be found in MGN 20.

  2.10.2 Applying the principles of the health and safety requirements to Code Vessels means that the operator or skipper should take a proactive approach to safety and consider what particular hazards are likely to arise in the context of work activities on board. They should then take appropriate measures to remove the risks in so far as possible. The goal is to provide, as far as reasonably practical, for a safe working environment, with crew following safe working practices. The risk assessment does not need to be written down, but ensuring that crew have appropriate health and safety instruction and information is part of the exercise. Section 17 of MGN 20 outlines the duties of the workers.

 In any vessel that carries radar, the Skipper and any member of the crew who is liable to use the radar are strongly recommended to undertake appropriate training in its use.