What working environment criteria does MLC 2006 set for health, safety and accident prevention?
Short answer
| Standard A4.3 element | What it requires |
|---|---|
| OSH policy and programme | written policies on board, based on national guidelines |
| Risk assessment | precautions to prevent occupational accidents, injuries and diseases |
| Safe and hygienic environment | machinery guarding, safe access, noise, vibration, heat, lighting, ventilation, chemical exposure |
| Safety committee | on ships with five or more seafarers, with the safety officer and representatives |
| Training and PPE | instruction in safe working and personal protective equipment |
| Reporting and learning | investigation and recording of accidents, injuries and diseases |
| Younger seafarers | under 18 protected from particularly hazardous work |
- Regulation 4.3: seafarers live, work and train on board in a safe and hygienic environment with their occupational health protected.
- Standard A4.3 machinery: OSH policy and programme, risk assessment, control of physical and chemical hazards, training and PPE, reporting and investigation of accidents.
- Safety committee: on ships with five or more seafarers, with the safety officer and safety representatives.
- Special protection: seafarers under 18 kept from particularly hazardous work.
- How it connects: the labour side of what the ISM Code delivers and what STCW A-VIII/1 addresses for fatigue; the OSH programme lives inside the SMS.
- As Chief Engineer: risk assessments and permit-to-work, the safety committee, PPE, noise, heat and chemical exposure control, training, and reporting near-misses; India applies it through MS Act 2025.
Full answer
The full answer explains each point step by step, with the regulations and figures behind it and the discussion from other candidates. It is in the MEO Class I section of the Marine One forum, open to members enrolled for the MEO Class I exam.