Can anybody clarify the applicability of the ILO 180 guidelines (convention)(http://www.admiraltylawguide.com/conven/seafarershours1996.html) on yachts? When will they become applicable? Among others they seem to require 7 m2 (70 sq. ft) per crew cabin with one crew member per cabin. This could shake up yacht design considerably...
MY GOD , would that make things a bit different. What do you think about adding that to our contracts with owners.
Hi, Apart from the Cabin size which I didn't see in the article itself, most of the rest of it is already covered By the ISM/SMS in operation on any commercial vessel over 500 GRT.
Seems to be planned to come in around 2011. Will affect all new builds from then, so non-complying series production yachts currently in production will need some re-thinking. No more expendable crew fwd of collision bulkheads, no rescue tenders fwd of collision bulkheads, more crew cabin floor area, better space for crew leisure and other very sensible stuff. First glance, rules will affect charter yachts well under 500 gross tons too. Like so many of these rules, interpretation is rather challenging....why they cant just use simple unambiguous English is beyond me. I haven't read through it properly yet as I got a headache, but yes, it will change current design trends considerably.