Explanatory Note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations revoke the Merchant Shipping (Seamen’s Documents) Regulations 1972, as amended, and re-enact them with further amendments. The major changes are:—
(a)British Seamen’s Cards no longer require endorsement after 5 years; they are issued valid for ten years;
(b)British Seamen’s Cards are no longer obligatory for British seafarers;
(c)the precise form of such a Card is not included in the Regulations; instead the Regulations specify the particulars to be included in a Card;
(d)application for seamen’s documents can now be made not only to a superintendent but also to the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen;
(e)the removal of the requirement to list periods of work or standing by, of paid and unpaid leave and of sickness and study leave in discharge books;
(f)the addition of a requirement to include a record of certificates issued under the Merchant Shipping (Medical Examination) Regulations 1983 in discharge books;
(g)the extension of powers to make certain entries in discharge books to include Principals, or approved deputies, of training establishments approved by the Department of Transport, and the holders themselves;
(h)the inclusion of a requirement to make persons to whom a discharge book is produced return it to the holder as soon as practical;
(i)increase of one in the number of photographs to be submitted if application is made for both a British Seaman’s Card and a discharge book;
(j)masters of non-UK registered vessels may make voyage entries relating to service in those vessels.