CMNT_TITLE

Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 147) - Trinidad and Tobago (RATIFICATION: 1999)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

Article 2(a)(ii). Social security measures. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that detailed provisions on shipboard conditions of employment including seafarers’ health protection are set out in Part VIII of the Shipping Act (Chapter 50:10), and that additional regulations governing those areas are forthcoming. The Committee, notes, however, that the Government has provided no response regarding which of the three Conventions, that is the Shipowners’ Liability (Sick and Injured Seamen) Convention, 1936 (No. 55), the Sickness Insurance (Sea) Convention, 1936 (No. 56), or the Medical Care and Sickness Benefits Convention, 1969 (No. 130), it intends to apply for the purposes of this Convention, and thus the Committee is unable to assess the substantial equivalence of its social security legislation to the requirements of the selected Convention. The Committee again requests the Government to determine which of these three Conventions it intends to apply for the purposes of substantial equivalence. Please also indicate the specific provisions of the national legislation substantially equivalent to the selected Convention and provide copies of any relevant laws or regulations which may not have been previously communicated to the Office.

Article 2(d)(i). Complaints with respect to the engagement of seafarers. The Committee notes the Government’s previous indication that under section 153 of the Shipping Act, the Registrar of Seamen is empowered to receive complaints arising in connection with the engagement of seafarers on Trinidad and Tobago-flagged ships. The Committee requests the Government to indicate any specific rules or regulations setting out the practical arrangements for the examination of complaints.

Article 4. Port State control – Practical application. Recalling the Government’s earlier indication that no measures are necessary in respect of this Article of the Convention, the Committee again requests the Government to describe the procedures put in place for verifying compliance of foreign-flagged ships calling in Trinidad and Tobago ports with the standards of this Convention and to give details on the practical functioning of existing arrangements (for example, number of inspectors, statistics on inspections carried out and results obtained, number of ships detained, sample copies of inspection checklists or inspection report forms, and activity reports of port authorities).

Finally, the Committee wishes to recall that Convention No. 147 has been revised by the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006). The Committee invites the Government to provide information on any action taken or planned for the ratification of this Convention.