1.Member States shall ensure that deck crew members who apply for a Union certificate of qualification demonstrate their medical fitness by presenting to the competent authority a valid medical certificate issued by a medical practitioner who is recognised by the competent authority, based on the successful completion of a medical fitness examination.
2.The applicants shall present a medical certificate to the competent authority when applying for
(a)their first Union certificate of qualification as a deck crew member;
(b)their Union certificate of qualification as a boatmaster;
(c)the renewal of their Union certificate of qualification as a deck crew member in case the conditions specified in paragraph 3 of this Article are met.
Medical certificates issued for the purpose of obtaining a Union certificate of qualification shall be dated no earlier than three months before the date of the application for a Union certificate of qualification.
3.From the age of 60, the holder of a Union certificate of qualification as a deck crew member shall demonstrate medical fitness in accordance with paragraph 1 at least every five years. From the age of 70, the holder shall demonstrate medical fitness in accordance with paragraph 1 every two years.
4.Member States shall ensure that employers, boatmasters and Member States authorities are able to require a deck crew member to demonstrate medical fitness in accordance with paragraph 1 whenever there are objective indications that that deck crew member no longer fulfils the medical fitness requirements referred to in paragraph 6.
5.Where medical fitness cannot be fully demonstrated by the applicant, Member States may impose mitigation measures or restrictions that provide equivalent navigation safety. In that case, those mitigation measures and restrictions related to medical fitness shall be mentioned in the Union certificate of qualification in accordance with the model referred to in Article 11(3).
6.The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 31 on the basis of the essential requirements for medical fitness referred to in Annex III to supplement this Directive by laying down the standards for medical fitness that specify the requirements with regards to medical fitness, in particular with regard to the tests that medical practitioners must carry out, the criteria they must apply to determine fitness for work, and the list of restrictions and mitigation measures.