Medical certificate validity and the eyesight standards that allow no discretion (STCW Regulation I/9 and Code A-I/9)

STCW Regulation I/9 has each Party establish standards of medical fitness for seafarers and procedures for issuing a medical certificate. The content of the standards is filled in by Code section A-I/9. Read together, the two provisions divide what a Party may decide from what it may not.

The period of validity, the handling of expiry on a voyage and permission in urgent cases are fixed in numbers by the regulation. In applying the physical standards, a Party may give discretion to the medical practitioner. For the eyesight of a person on look-out duties in the deck department, however, there is no discretion. This article follows that line.

MLC, 2006 Standard A1.2 also deals with seafarer medical certificates. The validity structure of the two regimes uses the same numbers, and the MLC side is covered in a separate article. This article reads the STCW provisions only.

A seafarer serving with a Convention certificate must also hold a valid medical certificate

3 Every seafarer holding a certificate issued under the provisions of the Convention, who is serving at sea, shall also hold a valid medical certificate issued in accordance with the provisions of this regulation and of section A-I/9 of the STCW Code.

This is paragraph 3 of Regulation I/9. It applies to every seafarer serving at sea with a certificate issued under the Convention. shall also hold means the certificate of competency and the medical certificate run separately. A valid certificate of competency does not satisfy this provision when the medical certificate has expired.

Paragraph 4 sets three conditions for a candidate for certification. Not less than 16 years of age, satisfactory proof of identity, and the medical fitness standards established by the Party.

Validity is capped at two years, or one year under 18

5 Medical certificates shall remain valid for a maximum period of two years unless the seafarer is under the age of 18, in which case the maximum period of validity shall be one year.

This is paragraph 5 of Regulation I/9. Because it says maximum period, two years and one year are ceilings. The Party or the practitioner may write a shorter period. The expiry date on the certificate governs; it is not calculated by adding two years to the date of issue.

6 If the period of validity of a medical certificate expires in the course of a voyage, then the medical certificate shall continue in force until the next port of call where a medical practitioner recognized by the Party is available, provided that the period shall not exceed three months.

Paragraph 6 deals with expiry on a voyage. Two conditions. Until the next port of call where a practitioner recognized by the Party is available, and that period must not exceed three months. If the next port has no recognized practitioner the certificate continues to the port after, but three months is the end in every case.

7 In urgent cases the Administration may permit a seafarer to work without a valid medical certificate until the next port of call where a medical practitioner recognized by the Party is available, provided that: .1 the period of such permission does not exceed three months; and .2 the seafarer concerned is in possession of an expired medical certificate of recent date.

Paragraph 7 is the urgent permission to work without a valid certificate. It differs from paragraph 6 in that the Administration grants the permission and the seafarer must hold an expired medical certificate of recent date. A person who has never held a certificate does not get through this paragraph. The ceiling is the same three months as in paragraph 6.

The standards must ensure five things

2 The standards of physical and medical fitness established by the Party shall ensure that seafarers satisfy the following criteria: .1 have the physical capability, taking into account paragraph 5 below, to fulfil all the requirements of the basic training as required by section A-VI/1, paragraph 2; .2 demonstrate adequate hearing and speech to communicate effectively and detect any audible alarms; .3 have no medical condition, disorder or impairment that will prevent the effective and safe conduct of their routine and emergency duties on board during the validity period of the medical certificate; .4 are not suffering from any medical condition likely to be aggravated by service at sea or to render the seafarer unfit for such service or to endanger the health and safety of other persons on board; and .5 are not taking any medication that has side effects that will impair judgment, balance, or any other requirements for effective and safe performance of routine and emergency duties on board.

This is paragraph 2 of Code section A-I/9. Five things the standards set by the Party must ensure. The physical capability to complete basic training, hearing to detect alarms and speech to communicate, no condition that would prevent routine and emergency duties during the validity of the certificate, no condition likely to be aggravated at sea or to endanger others, and no medication that impairs judgement or balance.

during the validity period of the medical certificate in the third item ties the standards to the validity. Being fit at the time of the examination is not enough; the seafarer must be able to perform the duties for as long as the certificate is valid. Paragraph 1 lets a Party differentiate between new entrants and serving seafarers, and between functions on board.

Standards with discretion and without sit in one paragraph

5 Each Party shall provide guidance for the conduct of medical fitness examinations and issuing of medical certificates, taking into account provisions set out in section B-I/9 of this Code. Each Party shall determine the amount of discretion given to recognized medical practitioners on the application of the medical standards, bearing in mind the different duties of seafarers, except that there shall not be discretion with respect to the minimum eyesight standards for distance vision aided, near/immediate vision and colour vision in table A-I/9 for seafarers in the deck department required to undertake look-out duties. A Party may allow discretion on the application of these standards with regard to seafarers in the engine department, on the condition that seafarers’ combined vision fulfils the requirements set out in table A-I/9.

This is paragraph 5 of Code section A-I/9. The Party decides how much discretion recognized practitioners have in applying the standards. That discretion has one exception. The minimum standards for distance vision aided, near vision and colour vision for seafarers in the deck department required to undertake look-out duties. For those three items, there shall not be discretion.

The engine department is different. Where the combined vision of both eyes meets table A-I/9, the Party may allow discretion. Within one paragraph, deck look-out and engine department go in opposite directions.

Item	Deck look-out duties	Engine department
Distance vision aided	No discretion	Discretion possible where combined vision meets the table
Near/immediate vision	No discretion	Discretion possible where combined vision meets the table
Colour vision	No discretion	Discretion possible where combined vision meets the table
Other medical standards	Discretion within the limits set by the Party	Discretion within the limits set by the Party

Table A-I/9 gives eyesight figures for three categories

Table A-I/9 sorts seafarers into three categories. On the deck side, masters, deck officers and ratings required to undertake look-out duties. On the engine side, all engineer officers, electro-technical officers, electro-technical ratings and ratings forming part of an engine-room watch. And GMDSS radio operators.

Category	Distance vision aided (one eye / other eye)	Near/immediate vision	Colour vision
Deck look-out duties	0.5 / 0.5	Vision required for ship’s navigation	CIE colour vision standard 1 or 2
All engine department	0.4 / 0.4 (combined at least 0.4)	Vision required to read instruments in close proximity	CIE colour vision standard 1, 2 or 3
GMDSS radio operators	0.4 / 0.4	Vision required to read instruments in close proximity	CIE colour vision standard 1, 2 or 3

The values are in Snellen decimal notation. The notes to the table recommend at least 0.7 in one eye on the deck side and require engine department personnel to have a combined vision of at least 0.4. Visual fields, night blindness and diplopia apply to all three categories, with vision required to perform all functions in darkness and no significant double vision evident.

Colour vision is assessed every six years, and the certificate carries an English translation

• Note: Colour vision assessment only needs to be conducted every six years.

Paragraph 7 of Code section A-I/9 lists the minimum information on the certificate. The authorizing authority, seafarer information, the declaration of the recognized practitioner, details of the issuing authority and the seafarer’s signature. The practitioner’s declaration records whether hearing, visual acuity and colour vision meet the standards, fitness for look-out duties, any limitations, and the dates of examination and expiry. The note attached to the colour vision item sets the assessment interval at six years. The certificate is renewed every two years, but the date of the last colour vision test is recorded and the test need not be repeated within six years.

8 Medical certificates shall be in the official language of the issuing country. If the language used is not English, the text shall include a translation into that language.

Paragraph 8 is language. The certificate is written in the official language of the issuing country and, where that is not English, includes an English translation. It is a document read in port State control.

6 Each Party shall establish processes and procedures to enable seafarers who, after examination, do not meet the medical fitness standards or have had a limitation imposed on their ability to work, in particular with respect to time, field of work or trading area, to have their case reviewed in line with that Party’s provisions for appeal.

Paragraph 6 is review. A seafarer who fails the standards or has a limitation imposed as to time, field of work or trading area must be able to have the case reviewed under the Party’s appeal provisions. The certificate format in paragraph 7 puts a confirmation next to the seafarer’s signature that this right of review was explained.

Worth confirming

This article covers the text of Regulation I/9, paragraphs 1 to 8 of Code section A-I/9 and table A-I/9. The guidance on assessing physical abilities in Code section B-I/9 is not covered. The standards a Party has actually established and its register of recognized practitioners are found in the rules of the flag State.

The validity of the medical certificate appears with the same figures in MLC, 2006 Standard A1.2. Whether one certificate satisfies both requirements is read from the field on the certificate stating the requirements under which it is issued.

You can consult the cited source documents

These links lead to the official publishers of the documents discussed here. Match the edition and provisions cited in the article, and check subsequent amendments and flag-state implementation before applying them.

• IMO · STCW Convention and Code (Manila Amendments)

Continue with the related operational guidance

• Seafarer medical certificate validity periods and expiry at sea (MLC Standard A1.2)
• Five-year revalidation of certificates and the two seagoing service routes (STCW Regulation I/11)