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Article 1, paragraph 7, of the Convention. Exceptions. The Committee notes that section 1(4) of Annex XIV to the Royal Decree of 20 July 1973, issuing the Maritime Inspection Regulations (RIM), as amended in 1998, still allows the prescriptions of the abovementioned annex to be varied for any vessel if the competent authority is satisfied, after consultation with the fishing vessel owners’ and fishers’ organizations, that the variations to be made provide corresponding advantages as a result of which the overall conditions are no less favourable than those that would result from the full application of the prescriptions of the annex. The Committee notes in this connection that the Government has provided no information on the application of this provision since 1993. It therefore asks the Government to indicate whether any such variations have been allowed and, if so, to provide relevant information on them.

Article 13. Sick bay and medicine chest. The Committee notes with interest the Royal Order of 7 January 1998 on medical treatment on board vessels, which transposes Council Directive No. 92/29/EEC of 31 March 1992. It notes in particular that all vessels must at all times have medical supplies on board (section 2(1) of the Royal Order); that any vessel with 100 or more persons on board embarking on an international trip of more than three days must have a doctor on board; and that any vessel with 300 or more persons on board embarking on an international trip of more than three days must also have a nurse on board (section 2(5) of the Royal Order).

The Committee further notes that the Royal Order of 7 January 1998 amends Annex XIV of the RIM covering prescriptions for the accommodation of crews. In this connection, it notes that the amended version of Annex XIV drops the requirement for fishing vessels of 45 metres or more in length to have a sick bay (former section 13(1)(2) of Annex XIV). The new version of section 13(1) of Annex XIV requires all vessels covered by the Royal Order of 7 January 1998 of over 500 gross registered tons, having a crew of 15 or more and embarking on a trip of more than three days to have an area in which medical care can be administered. The Committee nonetheless draws the Government’s attention to the fact that, under Article 13, paragraph 1, of the Convention, there must be a sick bay on vessels of 500 tons or over, and that this requirement is not contingent upon a minimum crew size. Furthermore, ccording to Article 1, paragraph 6(e), of the Convention, Article 13, paragraph 1, setting out requirements regarding a sick bay, does not apply to vessels that normally remain away from their home ports for periods of less than 36 hours and in which the crew does not live permanently on board when in port. This Article does not, therefore, allow any exemption from the sick bay rule in the case of fishing vessels undertaking trips of at least 36 hours but less than three days, as does the new legislation. The Committee trusts that the Government will promptly take the necessary measures to ensure that full effect is given to the Convention in this matter.

Part V of the report form. The Committee requests the Government to provide general information on the application of the Convention in practice including, for instance, extracts from reports of the inspection services containing information on the number and nature of the infringements reported.