History

These regulations have been set out according to Article 8, Paragraph 5 of the Seafarer Act.

Seafarers should submit to a medical examination prior to boarding the ship, and should accept regular health checks once their service onboard has begun.
Employers must not hire seafarers who do not possess the medical certificate specified in these regulations (as attachment) proving that their physical condition is suitable for work onboard a ship.
Seafarers identified by the medical examination as being unsuitable for work onboard a ship must not be hired.
Employers could discontinue the employment of seafarers identified by the health check as suffering from a non work-related illness and who are unable to carry out their original work.

The medical examination and health checks referred to within these regulations should be carried out by the following medical institutions:
1. Public hospitals.
2. Teaching hospitals.

The seafarers having one of the following situations will not pass the medical or health examination:
1. Suffering from an infectious disease specified in the Communicable Disease Control Act, and who have not recovered from the disease.
2. Suffering from a mental disease that prevents them from carrying out day-to-day tasks, or who exhibit a clear tendency to harm others or themselves, or who exhibit harmful behavior.
3. Suffering from other diseases that prevent them from being able to competently carry out their work.
4. Suffering from a speech impediment that prevents them from being able to competently carry out their work.
5. Suffering from impaired hearing that prevents them from being able to competently carry out their work.
6. Suffering from a physical disability that prevents them from being able to competently carry out their work.
7. Unable to distinguish the colors red, green and blue; although this does not apply to the general affairs department personnel.
Seafarer’s eyesight criteria:
1. The aided visual acuity of the officers in charge of a navigational watch and ratings forming part of a navigational watch, according to eye chart test, less than 0.5 in either eye at a distance of 5 meters qualify as a ‘fail’.
2. The aided visual acuity of the officers in charge of an engineering watch and ratings forming part of an engineering watch, according to eye chart test, less than 0.4 in either eye or less than 0.4 combined eyesight vision at a distance of 5 meters qualify as a ‘fail’.
3. The aided visual acuity of the ratings not forming part of a watch, according to eye chart test, less than 0.4 in either eye at a distance of 5 meters qualify as a ‘fail’.
4. The officers, radio operators and ratings of a navigational watch who suffer from color blindness qualify as a ‘fail’.
Radio operators unable to hear the second hand ticking on a chronograph at a distance of 30cm in either ear qualify as a ‘fail’.

The medical certificate is effective from the date of examination and valid for 2 years. However, the medical certificate of seafarers less than 18 years old is effective from the date of examination and valid for 1 year.

In cases where the medical certificate of a seafarer expires in the course of a voyage, or will expire in the near future and in urgent cases, the Maritime Administration may permit the seafarer to work on board without a valid certificate until the next port of call where the seafarer can obtain a certificate from a qualified medical practitioner, provided that the period of such permission does not exceed 3 months.

According to regulations, medical institutions that discover a seafarer to be suffering from suspected occupational diseases during a health check should notify the Maritime and Port Bureau and labor and health competent authority within 30 days.

Medical institutions should retain seafarers’ medical examination and health check data for a minimum of 10 years for future reference.

The Maritime and Port Bureau and health authorities should carry out inspections of the medical examinations and health checks of the medical institutions. In the event that they discover any regulatory infringements, they should order improvements to be made within a certain time period.
The medical institutions should notify the supervisory authorities referred to above of the improvements made, and should provide a written report of improvements within the specified time period.
In the event that the Maritime and Port Bureau and health authorities discover a violation of the Medical Care Act by medical institutions, they should send details of the infringement to the local health authorities for handling according to the Act. After this, the health authorities should notify the Maritime and Port Bureau of the results.

These regulations come into force from the day upon which they are issued. Article 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 issued with the 18, September 2013 amendments come into effect from 20, August 2013.