Certification of Able Seamen Convention, 1946 (No. 74) - France (Ratification: 1948)

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

Article 2(4) of the Convention. Certification requirements for able seafarers – Minimum period of sea service. The Committee notes that, in reply to its previous comment, the Government indicates that the provisions of the Convention are not fully consistent with those of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1995. In this connection, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the STCW-95 Convention distinguishes between the conditions for the certification of ratings forming part of a navigational watch and those for the certification of able seamen under Convention No. 74 (see footnote 1 of Regulation II/4 of the STCW-95 Convention). Therefore, the provisions of these two instruments are not incompatible and the adoption of legislation to apply Regulation II/4 of the STCW-95 Convention, such as Decree No. 99-439 on which the Committee had previously commented, may not be deemed to fully implement Convention No. 74.

In addition, the Committee recalls that, in the course of the negotiations that eventually led to the adoption of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) – which revises Convention No. 74 together with 36 other international maritime labour Conventions – it was agreed that the responsibility for the training and certification requirements for able seafarers – except for ships’ cooks – should be transferred to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). However, since no such provisions had been adopted by the IMO at the time of the adoption of the MLC, 2006, and in order to avoid gaps in protection, Regulation 1.3(4) of the MLC, 2006, provides that any member State which, at the time of its ratification of that Convention, is bound by Convention No. 74, must continue to carry out the obligations under the latter unless and until mandatory provisions on this matter have been adopted by the IMO and entered into force, or until five years have elapsed since the entry into force of the MLC, 2006, whichever date is earlier. In this regard, the Government rightly refers in its report to the Manila amendments to the STCW Convention, which were adopted in June 2010 and will enter into force on 1 January 2012, and which lay down in Regulations II/5 and III/5 the mandatory minimum requirements for certification of ratings as able seafarers deck and able seafarers engine, respectively. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that it is bound to apply the provisions of Convention No. 74 until the MLC, 2006, enters into force for France. In any event, the possibility to be certified as a seafarer forming part of a navigational watch upon completing a period of three months of service in the deck department, as prescribed by section 55 of Decree No. 99-439, is not only contrary to Article 2(4) of the Convention but is also inconsistent with Regulation II/5 of the Manila amendments to the STCW Convention, which require seagoing service in the deck department of not less than 18 months or not less than 12 months if the seafarer has completed approved training. The Committee hopes that the Government will promptly take the necessary measures to ensure conformity with the requirements of the Convention regarding the minimum period of service at sea for the granting of certificates of qualification to able seafarers. The Government is also requested to keep the Office informed of any decision that it might take with respect to the ratification of the MLC, 2006, in the light of the EU Council decision of 2007 authorizing EU Member States to ratify this Convention.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

The Committee notes the Government’s communication that, due to internal administrative constraints related to preparations for ratification of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, the services in charge of reporting on maritime Conventions were unable to submit the reports on time and will make efforts to communicate them to the Office as soon as possible. In the meantime, the Committee is bound to repeat its previous comment, which read as follows:

Article 2, paragraph 4, of the Convention. The Committee notes that Decree No. 99-439 of 25 May 1999 on the issuing of seafarers’ occupational training certificates and conditions for performance of duties on board trading and fishing vessels as well as pleasure vessels equipped with a muster-roll, requires that three months’ actual service at sea in engineering or on the bridge be completed prior to certification. Such a minimum period of service on board is not in conformity with either the Convention or the other international instruments in force. Consequently, the Committee requests the Government to amend the legislation to bring it into conformity with the provisions of the Convention.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Article 2, paragraph 4, of the Convention. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report. It notes that Decree No. 99-439 of 25 May 1999 on the issuing of seafarers’ occupational training certificates and conditions for performance of duties on board trading and fishing vessels as well as pleasure vessels equipped with a muster-roll, requires that three months’ actual service at sea in engineering or on the bridge be completed prior to certification. Such a minimum period of service on board is not in conformity with either the Convention or the other international instruments in force. Consequently, the Committee requests the Government to amend the legislation to bring it into conformity with the provisions of the Convention.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

Article 2, paragraph 4, of the Convention. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report and particularly the fact that the conditions for serving on a vessel as an able seaman are now established by Decree No. 99 439 of 25 May 1999 concerning the issuance of maritime occupational training certificates and conditions for serving on board commercial and fishing vessels and on pleasure vessels with crews. The Committee notes that according to section 55 of the abovementioned Decree, a deck watch rating certificate is issued to applicants holding a maritime occupational training certificate qualifying them to be engaged on a vessel as a deckhand and who have completed three months of actual service at sea in the deck department. The Committee asks the Government to indicate the minimum period of service at sea required for issuance of an able seaman’s certificate, taking account of the service at sea carried out during the vocational training period, and recalls that, according to the Convention, as a general rule no person may be granted a certificate of qualification as an able seaman unless he has served at sea for at least 36 months.