Crew Accommodation: An introduction to what inspectors will look for when inspecting crew accommodation on board vessels. Public Health, Safety and Welfare issues
This article has also been published in the SHIPSAN Newsletter under the section “Environmental health and hygiene on ships”. Section Editor: Martin Walker, Port Health Officer, Suffolk Coastal Port Health Authority, Felixstowe, England
Author: Martin Walker, Port Health Officer, Suffolk Coastal Port Health Authority, Felixstowe, England
When the International Health Regulations 2005 came into force, they incorporated many new requirements for Port Health Officers. One of these, (and coincidentally, the first area covered by the WHO Technical Handbook) was that of crew accommodation. As inspectors will realise, a variety of different cabins may be encountered and need to be inspected as part of the routine issuance of an SSC, let alone the need to look at the accommodation in the case of the outbreak of disease.
As Public Health practitioners, our key focus is upon the public health aspects of the vessel. For seafarers, who may typically spend 6-12 months or more on board the vessel, health, safety and indeed their welfare is critical. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) Maritime Labour Convention 2006 comes into force on 20 August 2013, having been ratified by at least 30 member states and together with other conventions (The Accommodation of Crews (Supplementary Provisions) Convention no. C133 for example), and sets out a number of minimum standards including floor area per person, toilet facilities, washing facilities, minimum headroom, lighting standards and standards for sleeping accommodation. The standards are variable (or sometimes excluded) based upon the size of the vessel and will normally fall under the auspices of Port State Control.
The WHO Handbook for Ship Inspection covers crew and passenger accommodation in the first chapter. As well as overlapping with the ILO Convention, the handbook also covers items of Public Health concern. (The SHIPSAN TRAINET manual also covers these areas with a series of recommended standards that largely align with the WHO handbook). Although Ship Sanitation Inspections will focus on public health issues, we will have a role liaising with Port State Control where our findings may interest them. There are actually few measures that are requirements as compared to recommendations, though these are logical. Toilet facilities must be provided (either in cabins or a common place outside living quarters) and be equipped with a means for hand drying, toilet paper and soap but unusually, the provision of hand washing facilities is only a recommendation. Screening or mesh and other constructional details to prevent vector entry is another key Public Health measure. As these are recommendations, a risk based approach is entirely appropriate. Vector control measures may be different for vessels sailing to areas where, for example, yellow fever or malaria are prevalent, than perhaps those limiting their voyages around Northern Europe.
As would be expected, there are requirements for suitable cleaning and maintenance to take place in cabins and accommodation. There is a key requirement to perform disinfection, disinsection or deratting measures where evidence of vectors or other reservoirs are found. It is this area that I intend to cover in the next issue; particularly insect vectors that may cause public health risks in accommodation areas. If you have any good examples of cases that you would like to share with SHIPSAN ACT readers, please email details to me at martin.walker@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk
References:
World Health Organization, International Health Regulations 2005, available through http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241580410_eng.pdf
World Health Organization, 2011 Handbook for Inspection of Ships and Issuance of Ship Sanitation Certificates available through http://www.who.int/ihr/publications/handbook_ships_inspection/en/
International Labour Organization, Maritime Labour Convention 2006, available through http://www.ilo.org/global/standards/maritime-labour-convention/WCMS_090250/lang--en/index.htm
International Labour Organization, C-133 Accommodation of Crews (Supplementary Provisions) Convention 1970, (No. 133), available through
http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C133