Home>>Regulations>>details

CONVENTION No. 147 Convention concerning Minimum Standards inMerchant Ships

  • Type : Regulation
  • Release Date : 2010-11-14

[Date of coming into force: 28 November 1981.]

  The General Conference of the International Labour Organization,

  Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of theInternational Labour Office and having met in its Sixty-second Session on13 October 1976, and

  Recalling the provisions of the Seafarers' Engagement (ForeignVessels) Recommendation, 1958, and of the Social Conditions and Safety(Seafarers) Recommendation, 1958, and

  Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard tosubstandard vessels, particularly those registered under flags ofconvenience, which is the fifth item on the agenda of the session, and

  Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of aninternational Convention, adopts this twenty-ninth day of October of theyear one thousand nine hundred and seventy-six the following Convention,which may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards)Convention, 1976:Article 1

  1. Except as otherwise provided in this Article, this Conventionapplies to every sea-going ship, whether publicly or privately owned,which is engaged in the transport of cargo or passengers for the purposeof trade or is employed for any other commercial purpose.

  2. National laws or regulations shall determine when ships are to beregarded as sea-going ships for the purpose of this Convention.

  3. This Convention applies to sea-going tugs.

  4. This Convention does not apply to

  (a) ships primarily propelled by sail, whether or not they arefitted with auxiliary engines;

  (b) ships engaged in fishing or in whaling or in similar pursuits;

  (c) small vessels and vessels such as oil rigs and drillingplatforms when not engaged in navigation, the decision as to which vesselsare covered by this subparagraph to be taken by the competent authority ineach country in consultation with the most representative organizations ofshipowners and seafarers.

  5. Nothing in this Convention shall be deemed to extend the scope ofthe Conventions referred to in the Appendix to this Convention or of theprovisions contained therein.Article 2

  Each Member which ratifies this Convention undertakes

  (a) to have laws or regulations laying down, for ships registeredin its territory

  (i) safety standards, including standards of competency, hoursof work and manning, so as to ensure the safety of life on board ship;

  (ii) appropriate social security measures; and

  (iii) shipboard conditions of employment and shipboard livingarrangements, in so far as these, in the opinion of the Member, are notcovered by collective agreements or laid down by competent courts in amanner equally binding on the shipowners and seafarers concerned;

  and to satisfy itself that the provisions of such laws and regulationsare substantially equivalent to the Conventions or Articles of Conventionsreferred to in the Appendix to this Convention, in so far as the Member isnot otherwise bound to give effect to the Conventions in question;

  (b) to exercise effective jurisdiction or control over ships whichare registered in its territory in respect of

  (i) safety standards, including standards of competency, hoursof work and manning, prescribed by national laws or regulations;

  (ii) social security measures prescribed by national laws orregulations;

  (iii) shipboard conditions of employment and shipboard livingarrangements prescribed by national laws or regulations, or laid down bycompetent courts in a manner equally binding on the shipowners andseafarers concerned;

  (c) to satisfy itself that measures for the effective control ofother shipboard conditions of employment and living arrangements, where ithas no effective jurisdiction, are agreed between shipowners or theirorganizations and seafarers' organizations constituted in accordance withthe substantive provisions of the Freedom of Association and Protection ofthe Right to Organize Convention, 1948, and the Right to Organize andCollective Bargaining Convention, 1949;

  (d) to ensure that

  (i) adequate procedures-subject to over-all supervision by thecompetent authority, after tripartite consultation amongst that authorityand the representative organizations of shipowners and seafarers whereappropriate-exist for the engagement of seafarers on ships registered inits territory and for the investigation of complaints arising in thatconnection;

  (ii) adequate procedures-subject to over-all supervision bythe competent authority, after tripartite consultation amongst thatauthority and the representative organizations of shipowners and seafarerswhere appropriate-exist for the investigation of any complaint made inconnection with and, if possible, at the time of the engagement in itsterritory of seafarers of its own nationality on ships registered in aforeign country, and that such complaint as well as any complaint made inconnection with and, if possible, at the time of the engagement in itsterritory of foreign seafarers on ships registered in a foreign country,is promptly reported by its competent authority to the competent authorityof the country in which the ship is registered, with a copy to theDirectorGeneral of the International Labour Office.

  (e) to ensure that seafarers employed on ships registered in itsterritory are properly qualified or trained for the duties for which theyare engaged, due regard being had to the Vocational Training (Seafarers)Recommendation, 1970;

  (f) to verify by inspection or other appropriate means that shipsregistered in its territory comply with applicable international labourConventions in force which it has ratified, with the laws and regulationsrequired by subparagraph (a) of this Article and, as may be appropriateunder national law, with applicable collective agreements;

  (g) to hold an official inquiry into any serious marine casualtyinvolving ships registered in its territory, particularly those involvinginjury and/or loss of life, the final report of such inquiry normally tobe made public.Article 3

  Any Member which has ratified this Convention shall, in so far apracticable, advise its nationals on the possible problems of signing on aship registered in a State which has not ratified the Convention, until itis satisfied that standards equivalent to those fixed by this Conventionare being applied. Measures taken by the ratifying State to this effectshall not be in contradiction with the principle of free movement ofworkers stipulated by the treaties to which the two States concerned maybe parties.Article 4

  1. If a Member which has ratified this Convention and in whose port aship calls in the normal course of its business or for operational reasonsreceives a complaint or obtains evidence that the ship does not conform tothe standards of this Convention, after it has come into force, it mayprepare a report addressed to the government of the country in which theship is registered, with a copy to the Director-General of theInternational Labour Office, and may take measures necessary to rectifyany conditions on board which are clearly hazardous to safety or health.

  2. In taking such measures, the Member shall forthwith notify thenearest maritime, consular or diplomatic representative of the flag Stateand shall, if possible, have such representative present. It shall notunreasonably detain or delay the ship.

  3. For the purpose of this Article, “complaint” means informationsubmitted by a member of the crew, a professional body, an association, atrade union or, generally, any person with an interest in the safety ofthe ship, including an interest in safety or health hazards to its crew.Article 5

  1. This Convention is open to the ratification of Members which

  (a) are parties to the International Convention for the Safety ofLife at Sea, 1960, or the International Convention for the Safety of Lifeat Sea, 1974, or any Convention subsequently revising these Conventions;and

  (b) are parties to the International Convention on Load Lines,1966, or any Convention subsequently revising that Convention; and

  (c) are parties to, or have implemented the provisions of, theRegulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea of 1960, or the Convention onthe International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, orany Convention subsequently revising these international instruments.

  2. This Convention is further open to the ratification of any Memberwhich, on ratification, undertakes to fulfil the requirements to whichratification is made subject by paragraph 1 of this Article and which arenot yet satisfied.

  3. The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicatedto the DirectorGeneral of the International Labour Office forregistration.Article 6

  1. This Convention shall be binding only upon those Members of theInternational Labour Organization whose ratifications have been registeredwith the Director-General.

  2. It shall come into force twelve months after the date on whichthere have been registered ratifications by at least ten Members with atotal share in world shipping gross tonnage of 25 per cent.

  3. Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for any Membertwelve months after the date on which its ratification has beenregistered.Article 7

  1. A Member which has ratified this Convention may denounce it afterthe expiration of ten years from the date on which the Convention firstcomes into force, by an act communicated to the Director-General of theInternational Labour Office for registration. Such denunciation shall nottake effect until one year after the date on which it is registered.

  2. Each Member which has ratified this Convention and which does not,within the year following the expiration of the period of ten yearsmentioned in the preceding paragraph, exercise the right of denunciationprovided for in this Article, will be bound for another period of tenyears and, thereafter, may denounce this Convention at the expiration ofeach period of ten years under the terms provided for in this Article.Article 8

  1. The Director-General of the International Labour Office shallnotify all Members of the International Labour Organization of theregistration of all ratifications and denunciations communicated to him bythe Members of the Organization.

  2. When the conditions provided for in Article 6, paragraph 2, abovehave been fulfilled, the Director-General shall draw the attention of theMembers of the Organization to the date upon which the Convention willcome into force.Article 9

  The Director-General of the International Labour Office shallcommunicate to the Secretary-General of the United Nations forregistration in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the UnitedNations full particulars of all ratifications and acts of denunciationregistered by him in accordance with the provisions of the precedingArticles.Article 10

  At such times as it may consider necessary the Governing Body of theInternational Labour Office shall present to the General Conference areport on the working of this Convention and shall examine thedesirability of placing on the agenda of the Conference the question ofits revision in whole or in part.Article 11

  1. Should the Conference adopt a new Convention revising thisConvention in whole or in part, then, unless the new Convention otherwiseprovides

  (a) the ratification by a Member of the new revising Conventionshall ipso jure involve the immediate denunciation of this Convention,notwithstanding the provisions of Article 7 above, if and when the newrevising Convention shall have come into force;

  (b) as from the date when the new revising Convention comes intoforce this Convention shall cease to be open to ratification by theMembers.

  2. This Convention shall in any case remain in force in its actualform and content for those Members which have ratified it but have notratified the revising Convention.Article 12

  The English and French versions of the text of this Convention areequally authoritative.

  APPENDIX

  Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), or

  Minimum Age (Sea) Convention (Revised), 1936 (No. 58), or

  Minimum Age (Sea) Convention, 1920 (No. 7);

  Shipowners' Liability (Sick and Injured Seamen) Convention, 1936 (No.55), or

  Sickness Insurance (Sea) Convention, 1936 (No. 56), or

  Medical Care and Sickness Benefits Convention, 1969 (No. 130);

  Medical Examination (Seafarers) Convention, 1946 (No. 73);

  Prevention of Accidents (Seafarers) Convention, 1970 (No. 134)(Articles 4 and 7);

  Accommodation of Crews Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 92);

  Food and Catering (Ships' Crews) Convention, 1946 (No. 68) (Article5);

  Officers' Competency Certificates Convention, 1936 (No. 53) (Articles3 and 4)①;

  [ ① In cases where the established licensing system or certificationstructure of a State would be prejudiced by problems arising from strictadherence to the relevant standards of the Officers' CompetencyCertificates Convention, 1936, the principle of substantial equivalenceshall be applied so that there will be no conflict with that State'sestablished arrangements for certification.]

  Seamen's Article of Agreement Convention, 1926 (No. 22);

  Repatriation of Seamen Convention, 1926 (No. 23)

  Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to OrganizeConvention, 1948 (No. 87);

  Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98)。
 

Country Codes
AE UnitedArabEmirates
AL Albania
AR Argentina
AU Australia
BD Bangladesh
BG Bulgaria
BI Burundi
BM Bermuda
BO Bolivia
BS Bahamas
>>More