Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Officers' Competency Certificates Convention, 1936 (No. 53) - Mauritania (Ratification: 1963)

Article 3(2) of the Convention. Exceptions. The Committee refers to its previous comments, in which it noted that section 275(3) of the Maritime Code authorizes the Central Maritime Authority to make exceptions, in cases of recognized necessity, to the requirement for masters, skippers, chief engineers and officers to hold a diploma, certificate or other required qualification. Recalling that the Convention only allows exceptions from these requirements in cases of force majeure, the Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure that the exceptions granted under section 275(3) of the Maritime Code are only authorized in such cases. It also requests the Government to provide information on the number of exceptions granted under section 275(3) of the Maritime Code during the period covered by its next report and the circumstances justifying the granting of these exceptions.

Article 5. Supervision of the enforcement of the provisions of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken with a view to ensuring the inspection of vessels flying the Mauritanian flag, and, where necessary, the detention of the vessels concerned, with a view to supervising the enforcement of the provisions of the Convention. The Government is also requested to provide information on the procedure followed in the framework of the port State control when violations of the provisions of the Convention are observed on board a vessel flying the flag of another State. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would provide statistical data on the number of inspections conducted each year, both in the context of flag State inspections and port State controls.

Article 6. Penalties. The Committee notes that section 448(18) of the Maritime Code classifies as a non-serious maritime violation the failure by a master or a seafarer to comply with, among others, provisions respecting the qualification of ships’ crews. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide further information on this subject, taking into account the potential consequences, in terms of safety, of failure to comply with requirements relating to the qualification of ships’ crews, as well as the importance of the responsibility of shipowners and masters in this field.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of certificates of the various categories that have been issued during the period covered by its next report, as well as statistical data on the number of violations covered by section 448(18) of the Maritime Code which are reported and the penalties applied to those responsible. The Government is also requested to provide updated information on the composition of its fleet, and particularly to indicate whether it continues to be exclusively or almost exclusively composed of fishing vessels.

Finally, the Committee recalls that the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006), revises Convention No. 53 and 36 other international maritime labour conventions, with the objective of establishing equitable rules for all shipowners in relation to the living and working conditions of seafarers. It also recalls that, during the negotiations which finally led to the adoption of the MLC, 2006, it was agreed that responsibility for issues relating to the training and certification of seafarers – with the exception of ships’ cooks – should be transferred to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Regulation 1.3(3) of the MLC, 2006, provides that training and certification in accordance with the mandatory instruments adopted by the IMO shall be considered as meeting the requirements of the MLC, 2006. Similarly, the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188), which lays down consolidated and updated standards regulating work in the fishing sector, does not revise the Fishermen’s Competency Certificates Convention, 1966 (No. 125), in order to avoid the duplication of rules in relation to the provisions of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) (STCW-F Convention 1995). In this respect, the Committee notes with interest that on 30 June 2008 Mauritania ratified the STCW-F Convention 1995, although it has not yet entered into force. Recalling that Mauritania continues to be bound by the provisions of Convention No. 53 until the MLC, 2006, enters into force for it, the Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any further developments relating to the ratification and effective implementation of the MLC, 2006. The Government is also requested to inform the Office of any decision which may be taken concerning the ratification of Convention No. 188.