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The Committee notes the adoption of Supreme Decree No. 028-DE/MPG of 25 May 2001, issuing regulations under the Act on the control and surveillance of maritime, river and lake transport, and repealing Supreme Decree No. 002-87-MA of 9 April 1987. It draws the Government’s attention to the following points.

Article 4, paragraph 2, of the Convention. Conditions for granting a certificate of qualification as ship’s cook. The Committee notes that Supreme Decree No. 028-DE/MPG of 25 May 2001, in contrast to Supreme Decree No. 002-87-MA of 9 April 1987, which it repeals, does not contain specific provisions relating to cooks. The conditions for obtaining a certificate of qualification as a ship’s cook are now only governed in the national legislation by Supreme Decree No. 048-DE/MPG of 9 October 1990 on ships’ cooks. Sections 1 and 2 of this Decree establish the requirements concerning age and nationality. Section 5 specifies the types of documents which have to be presented by the seafarer, in addition to obtaining a certificate of vocational qualification, to be registered and issued with a seafarer’s book. In addition, the seafarer has to provide a certificate of physical fitness issued by the Naval Medical Centre and a certificate from the National Merchant Naval School “Amiral Miguel Grau” confirming attendance and the award of a diploma for the completion of the training course as a crew member in the merchant navy. Once all these steps have been completed, the seafarer will receive, with the agreement of the captain of the port, authorization granting a certificate as ship’s cook enabling him to work in the merchant navy (section 6). Such approval may be withdrawn in cases where, within the first three years of obtaining the approval, the seafarer has not sailed for at least eight months on a ship to carry out his occupation (section 13). The Committee recalls that, under the terms of Article 4, paragraph 2, of the Convention, “no person shall be granted a certificate of qualification unless: (a) he has reached a minimum age to be prescribed by the competent authority; (b) he has served at sea for a minimum period to be prescribed by the competent authority; and (c) he has passed an examination to be prescribed by the competent authority”. Admittedly, the national legislation has recourse to the concept of a minimum period of service on board to determine whether or not the seafarer retains the authorization, but it does not contain a provision concerning the minimum period at sea to be prescribed to obtain the certificate itself. The seafarer receives authorization, and therefore the certificate, and it is only subsequently that the document may be withdrawn if the seafarer does not complete a minimum period of service at sea. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to bring national law and practice into conformity with these provisions and to ensure that a minimum period of sea service is required, in order to obtain the certificate as a ship’s cook.

Article 6. Recognition of certificates. The Government indicates in its report that it applies the procedure for the recognition of certificates set out in Regulation I/10 of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), as amended. However, the STCW does not contain specific provisions relating to cooks. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the manner in which foreign certificates of qualification for ships’ cooks are recognized.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes with regret that the report does not contain any information on this point. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide a general appreciation of the manner in which the Convention is applied including, for instance, extracts from the reports of the inspection services and indications on the number of certificates issued.