SESSION 7Title 3 – Accommodation,

recreational facilities, food and catering

AIM

To discuss the MLC,2006 requirements associated with;• accommodation and recreational facilities• food and catering.

Accommodation and recreational facilities (Regulation 3.1. Standard A3.1. Guideline B3.1)

Purpose: To ensure that seafarers have decent accommodation and recreational facilities on board.

Basic requirements• General requirements (Standard A3.1, para 6)• The size of rooms & other accommodation spaces (Standard A3.1

paras 9,10)• Heating and ventilation (Standard A3.1 para 7)• Noise and vibration & other ambient factors (Standard A3.1, para

6(h)).• Sanitary & related facilities (Standard A3.1, paras 11,13)• Lighting (Standard A3.1, para 8)• Hospital accommodation (Standard A3.1, para 12)• Recreational facilities (Standard A3.1, paras 14,17)• Occupational safety and health & accident prevention (Standard

A3.1, paras 2(a), 6(h))

Basic requirements

Flexibility – variations and exemptions.

Design and construction

General requirements:• Headroom;• Insulation;• Position of sleeping rooms;• Lighting and drainage; and• Health, safety, accident prevention

Detailed guidance:• Bulkheads;• Protection from heating systems;• Accommodation spaces should be insulated;• Non-slip decks; and• Avoid dirt traps.

VentilationBasic requirements:• Sleeping rooms and mess rooms to be adequately

ventilated;• Air conditioning except in temperate zones;• Open air ventilation for sanitary spaces.

Detailed guidance:• Should supply fresh air in all conditions;• Shouldn’t be too noisy;• Must be able to clean the system;• Must be constantly powered, but need not be on the

emergency system.

Heating

Basic requirement:• Adequate heating except in tropical climates

Detailed guidance:• In operation at all times;• Using an appropriate means;• Maintaining satisfactory temperature;• Avoiding risks or discomfort.

Lighting

Basic requirement:• Natural light and adequate artificial light for sleeping

rooms and mess rooms (special arrangements may have been permitted for passenger ships).

Detailed guidance:• Electric lighting• Berth lights• Natural light

Sleeping rooms

Basic requirements:• Principle of one room per seafarer;• Separate rooms for men and women;• Separate berth in all circumstances;• Minimum berth dimensions;• Minimum floor areas;• Additional space for certain officers;• Minimum furnishings to be provided.

Sleeping rooms

Criteria(in GT) Single berth cabins

Double berth cabins in cargo ships

Ratings cabins in passenger

ships

Officers cabins in passenger ships

(no day room)

Officers cabins in cargo ships

(no day room)

Special purpose

ships

<3000 tons 4.5m2 - - - - -

<3000tons - 7m2 - - 7.5m2 -

3000tons -10000tons

5.5m2 - - - 8.5m2 -

10000+ tons 7m2 - - - 10m2 -

2 persons - - 7.5m2 - - -

3 persons - - 11.5m2 - - -

4 persons - - 14.5m2 - - -

4 persons + - - - - - 3.6m2/person

Junior Officers - - - 7.5m2 - -

Senior Officers 8.5m2

Sleeping rooms

Detailed guidance:• Toilet facilities, where reasonable/practicable;• Partners to be taken in to account;• Watchkeepers separate from others;• Petty Officers, maximum 2 per room;• Second Engineers, additional space if possible;• Requirements for berths;• Other fittings;• Measuring floor space.

Mess rooms

Basic requirements:• Location, apart from sleeping rooms and close to

galleys;• Adequate size and comfort;• Properly furnished and equipped.

Detailed guidance:• Common or separate?• Size: 1.5m2 per person;• Sufficient equipment and facilities;

Sanitary facilities

Basic requirements:• Access, hygiene and comfort;• Separate facilities for men and women;• Laundry facilities.

Detailed guidance:• Facilities of adequate quality;• Convenient location;• Number; minimum 1 per 6 persons;• Laundry facilities to be provided

Hospital accommodation

Basic requirements:• Separate accommodation for ships with 15+ seafarers

on voyages lasting 3+ days (rule can be relaxed for ships in coastal trade);

• To be used only for medical purposes;• Easy to access, comfortable housing, conducive to

prompt and proper attention.Detailed guidance:• Functional design;• Number of berths;• Exclusive sanitary accommodation.

Other facilities

Basic requirements and detailed guidance:• Open air on deck;• Offices;• Protection from mosquitoes;• Other amenities.• Bedding;• Mess utensils etc.

Recreational facilities, mail & ship visit arrangements

Basic requirements:• Appropriate facilities, amenities and services, as adapted

to meet the special needs of all seafarers who live and work on ships.

Detailed guidance:• Examples of appropriate facilities;• Minimum that must be provided;• Facilitation of mail;• Seafarers’ partners & other visitors on board ship.

DMLC – PART II (Accommodation)

• If the ship was constructed prior to the MLC,2006 coming in to force then a statement should be made to the effect that the crew accommodation was constructed in accordance with ILO Conventions C92 and C133. If so the keel laying date should be included.

In addition the following should be included:• How the requirements or paragraph 2(a) of Standard A3.1 are dealt with.• Who is responsible for carrying out inspections of the crew accommodation,

the frequency that inspections are carried out and where they are recorded should be included.

• What is provided by way of bedding, mess utensils and miscellaneous provisions.

• The procedure for the sending and receiving of seafarers mail.• Whether seafarers may be accompanied by their partners for occasional

voyages.• Whether seafarers partners, relatives or friends are permitted to visit the

ship when it is in port.

DMLC – PART II (Recreational facilities)

• This section should as a minimum give information on what recreation facilities (for example, DVD players, televisions, sports equipment etc) are provided on board.

• Where appropriate the location of the upper deck area that is reserved for seafarers.

Checking for compliance

• Frequent inspections• Summary of points to be checked

Food and catering (Regulation 3.2. standard A3.2. Guideline B3.2)

Purpose:– To ensure that seafarers have access to good

quality food and drinking water provided under regulated hygienic conditions.

Basic requirements

• Food and drinking water to be of suitable quantity, nutritional value, quality and variety having regard to the number of seafarers, their religions or cultures, duration and nature of the voyage

• Properly organised and equipped catering department; hygienic preparation and serving

• Adequate, varied and nutritious meals provided free of charge during the seafarers’ engagement

• Properly trained and instructed catering staff• Frequent documented inspections

Basic requirements

• Properly organised and equipped catering department• Hygienic preparation and serving

Unhygienic practices• Frozen meat not separated from other frozen foods• Food maintained at incorrect temperatures• Raw food touching or dripping on to cooked food• Ready to eat food kept uncovered or for too long• Ready to eat food used beyond the “Use by” date• Food stored close to cleaning products• No cleaning products available• Presence of pests• Galley staff incorrectly dressed or wearing dirty clothes• Hand washing facilities inadequate• Inadequate facilities for washing food• Galley staff are smoking, eating or feeling unwell• Galley and the equipment is dirty and/or untidy• Dirty extractor fans and/or grease traps• Chopping boards are scratched, pitted, scored, or used for both

cooked and raw meat for example.

Catering staff

Catering staff to be properly qualified and properly trained:– ships’ cooks to be over 18;– dispensations permitted until next port or maximum of

one month

Inspections

Frequent and documented inspections of:– food and drinking water supplies;– all storage and handling spaces and equipment– galley and other equipment for preparing and serving

food

DMLC – PART II

• The following should be included:• Details concerning the loading, storage and treating

drinking water.• Procedures for storing, preparing and serving food.• That seafarers are not charged for their food.• That religious and cultural practices of seafarers are

catered for. • The qualifications/training of the cook and any other

galley staff.• Details of who carries out the inspections of the galley

and food handling/storage areas the frequency and how these inspections are recorded

Preparing for Inspection

• Summary of points to be checked