Regulation on amendments to Regulations concerning supervision of maritime service
The proposed amendments were circulated for comments in 2009. The laying down of the regulatory amendments was postponed pending the entry into force of the Ship Labour Act, in order to ensure a legal basis for the supervision of the employment agreements of employees on Norwegian ships.
The amendments to the Regulations concerning supervision of maritime service imply that the employment agreement, medical certificate and certificate of persons working on board shall not be checked by public supervisory authorities in connection with the appointment of such persons. It will now be the responsibility of the company alone to check that the documents of persons working on board are in order before they commence service. The requirement for preliminary supervision by the company has, following consultative statements, been continued in section 4 of the Regulations.
Section 8 of the Regulations concerning supervision of maritime service, regarding sea service book and record of service, along with section 4 (f) regarding proof of identification, are provisions that shall be continued. These provisions have been moved to sections 5, 7 and 8. Following input from the Federation of Norwegian Coastal Shipping (NHO Sjøfart), an amendment has been made to section 7 regarding service time, so that the recording of service time in the sea service book may now be done by the company's crew office as well.
Details of the amendments
The supervision of maritime service will henceforth be as follows:
The company is responsible for ensuring that persons working on board are employed on a legitimate basis, are qualified and have the health needed for the proper performance of their duties in accordance with the Ship Labour Act and the Ship Safety and Security Act with appurtenant regulations. Preliminary supervision is carried out by the company upon appointment on Norwegian ships. The Norwegian Maritime Authority shall issue Norwegian certificates and endorsements of foreign certificates, while foreign service stations shall issue provisional endorsements (CRA).
The Norwegian Maritime Authority shall supervise that the documents of persons working on board are in order, inter alia in connection with the issue of personal certificates. The authorities' supervision of working and living conditions on board Norwegian ships will henceforth take place on board. The provisions of the Ship Labour Act which concern supervision and certification will together with the Ship Safety and Security Act replace the supervision by public authorities prior to commencement of service.
The issue of sea service book, record of service and CRA, along with the recording of service time in the sea service book and record of service, will in the same way as before take place at NAV Maritime Control offices in Norway and in Norwegian foreign service stations abroad.
Entry into force
These amendments enter info force immediately.
Economic and administrative consequences
It is presupposed that these amendments will give the industry less burdens since fewer documents need to be inspected by the authorities. The company's duty to perform preliminary supervision is continued.
For public supervisory authorities the amendments imply a reduction of the document control in connection with commencement of service on ships. For the Norwegian Maritime Authority the amendments imply that employment agreements shall also be supervised on board.