SAFE MANNING AND WATCHKEEPING ġ S.L.234.31 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 234.31
MERCHANT SHIPPING (SAFE MANNING AND 
WATCHKEEPING) REGULATIONS
17th January, 2003
LEGAL NOTICE 29 of 2003, as amended by Legal Notice 350 of 2003.
Citation.
( Safe Manning and Watchkeeping)  Regulations.
Interpretation.
Amended by:
L.N. 350 of 2003.
Cap. 234.
2. (1) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires -
''Act'' means the Merchant Shipping Act;
"appropriate certificate" means an appropriate certificate as
defined in the STCW Convention;
"authorised person" means a person authorised by the Registrar-
General for the purpose of these regulations;
"company" includes an individual, and in relation to a ship
means the owner of the ship or any other organisation or person
such as the manager, or the bareboat charterer, who has assumed
responsibility for the operation of the ship from the owner and who,
on assuming such responsibility has agreed to take over all the
duties and responsibilities imposed on the company by the
regulations annexed to the STCW Convention;
"duly qualified medical practitioner" shall have the same
meaning as is assigned to it by article 108(5) of the Act;
"GT" means gross tonnage;
"hazardous cargo" means cargo which is or may be explosive,
flammable, toxic, health threatening or environment-polluting;
"safe manning document" means a document described as such
prescribing the minimum safe manning considered necessary for
the sufficient and efficient manning of the ship from the point of
view of safety of life at sea and pollution prevention, issued, in the
case of a Maltese ship by the Registrar-General, and in the case of
any other ship, by or on behalf of the Government of the State
whose flag the ship is entitled to fly;
"STCW Code" means the Seafarers’ Training Certification and
Watchkeeping Code adopted by the 1995 Conference of Parties to
the STCW Convention;
"STCW Convention" means the International Convention on
Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping signed in
London on 7th July 1978.
(2) Any reference in these regulations to an international
convention or its related code shall include reference to any
amendments to such convention code accepted by the Government
of Malta.
(3) Any reference in these regulations to an article, regulations,
2 ġ S.L.234.31 SAFE MANNING AND WATCHKEEPING
regulation or paragraph shall include reference to any amendment
to or replacement of such article, regulations, regulation or
paragraph.
Application. 3. (1) Subject to subregulation (2)( c ), these regulations apply
to all sea-going ships, except fishing vessels and pleasure craft, that
are Maltese ships wherever they are and other ships when in
Maltese waters.
(2) The Registrar-General may either on a case by case basis or
through the issue of Merchant Shipping Notices -
( a ) extend, subject to such conditions as may be deemed
proper, any of the provisions of these regulations to
any Maltese ship or to other classes of Maltese ships or
to any ship or to other classes of ships when they are in
Maltese waters;
( b ) exempt, subject to such conditions as may be deemed
proper, from any of the provisions of these regulations
any Maltese ship or classes of Maltese ships or any
ship or classes of ships when such ship or ships are in
Maltese waters; and
( c ) determine, lay down, prescribe, set or specify what
may be required to be determined, laid down,
prescribed, set or specified by these regulations or
expound on the requirements of these regulations or
clarify their applicability or interpretation;
and in so doing, and without prejudice to the generality of the
foregoing, the Registrar-General shall be guided by the circulars,
clarifications, codes, decisions, directives, guidelines, instruments,
interpretations, manuals, notices, publications, recommendations,
regulations, resolutions, rules or any other similar medium of the
International Maritime Organisation or any other body or
organisation with an appropriate knowledge or competence on the
subject matter.
Responsibilities of 
companies, 
masters and others.
4. (1) This regulation applies only to Maltese ships.
(2) Every company shall ensure that -
( a ) every seaman assigned to any of its ships holds an
appropriate certificate in respect of any function the
seaman is to perform on that ship;
S.L.234.17
( b ) every seaman on any of its ships has had training
specified in the Merchant Shipping (Training and
Certification) Regulations, in respect of any function
the seaman is to perform on that ship;
( c ) documentation and data relevant to all seamen
employed on its ships are maintained and readily
available for inspection and include, without being
limited to, documentation and data on their experience
training, medical fitness and competency in assigned
duties.
(3) Nothing in subregulation (2) shall prohibit the allocation of
tasks for training under supervision or in case of force majeure.
SAFE MANNING AND WATCHKEEPING ġ S.L.234.31 3
(4) The company shall provide written instructions to the
master of each of its ships setting out the policies and the
procedures to be followed to ensure that all seamen who are newly
employed on board the ship are given a reasonable opportunity to
become familiar with the shipboard equipment, operating
procedures and other arrangements needed for the proper
performance of their duties, before being assigned to their duties.
(5) The policies and procedures referred to in subregulation (4)
shall include -
( a ) allocation of a reasonable period of time during which
each newly employed seaman will have an opportunity
to become acquainted with -
(i) the specific equipment the seaman will be
operating; and
(ii) ship-specific watchkeeping, safety,
environmental protection and emergency
procedures and arrangements the seafarer needs
to know to perform the assigned duties properly;
( b ) designation of a knowledgeable crew member who will
be responsible for ensuring that an opportunity is
provided to each newly employed seaman to receive
essential information in a language the seaman
understands.
(6) It shall be the duty of any master and any member of a crew
designated with an obligation under subregulation (4) to carry out
that obligation.
Safe manning 
document.
Amended by:
L.N. 350 of 2003.
5. (1) It shall be the duty of the company to ensure that in
relation to every ship of 500 GT or more -
( a ) a safe manning document is in force in respect of the
ship and the manning of the ship;
( b ) the safe manning document is kept on board the ship at
all times;
( c ) the manning of the ship is maintained at all times to at
least the levels specified in the safe manning
document.
(2) The master of any ship to which these regulations apply
shall ensure that the ship does not proceed to sea unless there is on
board a valid safe manning document issued in respect of the ship
and the manning of the ship complies with that document.
(3) It shall be the duty of the company applying for a safe
manning document in respect of any Maltese ship to submit to the
Registrar-General any information that may be required for the
issue of such document.
(4) It shall be the duty of the company after the issue of a safe
manning document to inform the Registrar-General as soon as there
is any change of the circumstances which are pertinent to that safe
manning document.
(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of these regulations and
4 ġ S.L.234.31 SAFE MANNING AND WATCHKEEPING
without prejudice to any other duties and responsibilities of the
master and of the company, it shall be the duty of the master and of
the company to ensure that from the point of view of safety of life
at sea and pollution prevention, the ship is sufficiently and
efficiently manned.
Watchkeeping 
arrangements.
6. (1) The master of any ship shall ensure that the
watchkeeping arrangements for the ship are at all times adequate
for maintaining safe navigational and engineering watches having
regard to Chapter VIII of Section A of the STCW Code.
(2) Without prejudice to the duties of the master provided by
subregulation (1) the master shall give directions to the deck
watchkeeping officers responsible for navigating the ship safely
during their periods of duty, in accordance with Part 3-1 of Section
VIII/2 of the STCW Code and any requirements specified by the
Registrar-General.
(3) The chief engineer officer of any ship shall ensure that the
engineering watchkeeping arrangements for the ship are at all times
adequate for maintaining a safe watch in accordance with Part 3-2
of Section A-VIII/2 of the STCW Code, and when deciding the
composition of the watch the chief engineer officer shall observe
the principles set out in Part 3-2 of that section and the
requirements specified by the Registrar-General.
Watchkeeping 
arrangements in 
port.
7. The master of any ship which is safely moored or safely at
anchor under normal circumstances in port shall arrange for an
appropriate and effective watch to be maintained for the purposes
of safety. Such arrangements shall be in accordance with Part 4 of
Section A-VIII/2 of the STCW Code and any operational guidance
specified by the Registrar-General.
Watchkeeping 
arrangements in 
port for ships 
carrying hazardous 
cargo.
8. The master of any ship which is carrying hazardous cargo
and which is in port, even when safely moored or safely at anchor,
shall in addition to any watchkeeping arrangements required under
regulation 7, in the case of -
( a ) a ship carrying hazardous cargo in bulk ensure that a
safe deck watch and safe engineering watch are
maintained by the ready availability on board of a duly
qualified officer or officers, and where appropriate
ratings; and
( b ) a ship carrying hazardous cargo other than in bulk,
ensure that in organising safe watchkeeping
arrangements account is taken of the nature, quantity,
packing and stowage of the hazardous cargo and of any
special conditions on board, afloat and ashore.
Ship to carry duly 
qualified medical 
practitioner.
Added by:
L.N. 350 of 2003.
9. It shall be the duty of the master to ensure that a ship with a
total number of crew and passengers of one hundred persons or
more engaged on an international voyage of more than three days,
carries onboard as part of its safe manning a duly qualified medical
practitioner responsible for the medical care of the persons on
board.
SAFE MANNING AND WATCHKEEPING ġ S.L.234.31 5
Carriage of 
documents.
Amended by:
L.N. 350 of 2003.
10. Without prejudice to regulation 4, the company and the
master shall ensure that there are carried at all times on board ship
all original certificates and other documents issued pursuant to the
STCW Convention indicating the qualification of any member of
the crew to perform functions which they are required.
Inspection of ships.
Amended by:
L.N. 350 of 2003.
11. (1) An authorised person may inspect any ship for the
purpose of -
( a ) verifying that all seamen serving on board who are
required to be certificated hold valid appropriate
certificates;
( b ) assessing the ability of the seamen in a Maltese ship to
maintain the watchkeeping standards required by these
regulations; and
( c ) assessing the ability of the seamen in a ship which is
not a Maltese ship to maintain the watchkeeping
standards required by these regulations where there are
grounds for believing that such standards are not being
maintained because, while in Maltese waters, or in the
approaches to those waters, any of the following has
occurred -
(i) the ship has been involved in a collision,
grounding or stranding;
(ii) there has been an unlawful discharge of
substances from the ship when underway, at
anchor or at berth;
(iii) the ship has been manoeuvred in an erratic or
unsafe manner; or
(iv) the ship has otherwise been operated in such a
manner as to pose a danger to persons, property
or the environment.
(2) If an authorised person finds on inspection any deficiency
of a kind specified in subregulation (3) such person shall notify in
writing the master of the ship and also, in the case of a ship which
is not a Maltese ship, the nearest maritime, consular or diplomatic
representative of the flag State.
(3) Deficiencies referred to in subregulation (2) are -
( a ) failure of any seaman, required to hold an appropriate
certificate to have a valid appropriate certificate or a
valid exemption from that requirement;
( b ) failure to comply with the safe manning requirement;
( c ) failure of navigational or engineering watch
arrangements to conform to the requirements specified
for the ship by the competent authority of the country
in which the ship is registered;
( d ) absence on a watch of a person qualified to operate
equipment essential to safe navigation, safety radio
communications or the prevention of marine pollution.
6 ġ S.L.234.31 SAFE MANNING AND WATCHKEEPING
Power to detain.
Amended by:
L.N. 350 of 2003.
12. In any case where it is found -
( a ) in relation to a ship which is a Maltese ship, that there
is any contravention of these regulations; or
( b ) in relation to a ship which is not a Maltese ship, that
there is -
(i) any contravention of regulation 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9; or
(ii) a failure to correct a deficiency of a kind
specified in regulation 11(3) after notification to
the master pursuant to that same regulation, and
there is in consequence a danger to persons,
property or the environment,
the Registrar-General may detain such ship in terms of the Act until
the Registrar-General is satisfied that ship is fit to proceed to sea.
Penalties.
Amended by:
L.N. 350 of 2003.
13. Any person or company who contravenes the provisions of
these regulations shall, for each offence, be liable to the penalties
provided for in the Act, and if no such penalty is provided, such
person shall for each offence be liable to a fine ( multa ) not
exceeding 500 units.
