S.I. No. 276/1987:

MERCHANT SHIPPING (CERTIFICATION OF SHIPS' COOKS) REGULATIONS, 1987.

MERCHANT SHIPPING (CERTIFICATION OF SHIPS' COOKS) REGULATIONS, 1987.

I, BRENDAN DALY, Minister for the Marine, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 12 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1947 (No. 46 of 1947), and the Communications (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order, 1987 ( S.I. No. 91 of 1987 ) hereby make the following Regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Certification of Ships' Cooks) Regulations, 1987 and shall come into operation on the 19th day of November, 1987.

(2) The Merchant Shipping (Certification of Ships' Cooks) Regulations, 1949 ( S.I. No. 281 of 1949 ), are hereby revoked.

(3) In these Regulations--

"approved" means approved by the Minister in accordance with Regulation 3 of these Regulations;

"fishing vessel" means a vessel for the time being employed in sea fishing;

"GRT" means gross register tonnage and the gross tonnage of a ship having alternative gross tonnages shall be taken to be the larger of those tonnages; for a ship having its tonnage determined both under Part II and Regulation 16 of the Merchant Shipping (Tonnage) Regulations, 1984 ( S.I. No. 369 of 1984 ), the gross tonnage shall be that determined under Regulation 16.

2. (1) Every ship registered in the State (other than a fishing vessel or pleasure craft) engaged in the transport of cargo or the carriage of passengers which goes to sea with a crew (including the master and all persons employed or engaged by the owner on board the ship) of 9 of more shall, subject to any exemption granted under paragraph (2), carry a cook who is qualified in accordance with Regulation 4 and who is the holder of certificate of competency issued under Regulation 5 or recognised under Regulation 8 or 9 of these Regulations.

(2) The Minister may grant an exemption from paragraph (1) on such conditions as he may specify if he is satisfied that the supply of ships' cooks holding such a certificate is not adequate to enable the owner or master of the ship to comply with that paragraph and may, subject to giving reasonable notice, alter or cancel the exemption.

3. The Minister may specify:

( a ) schools of cookery or other like institutions, courses of training and examinations in cookery or catering or breadmaking held by such schools or like institutions; and

( b ) certificates or other documents evidencing attendance at such courses or the passing of such examinations

which shall be approved institutions, courses of training, examinations and certificates for the purpose of these Regulations.

4. Subject to Regulations 8 and 9 of these Regulations, in order to be qualified as a ship's cook for the purposes of Regulation 2 a person shall have attained the age of 20 years and have passed an approved examination for ships' cooks at an approved school of cookery or other approved like institution; and

(i) have attended an approved course of training for ships' cooks at an approved school of cookery or other approved like institution and have served for not less than one year at sea in the rating of second cook or cook assistant or;

(ii) have attended an approved course in trade cookery or catering, have been issued with an approved certificate in respect of that course and have served for not less than three months at sea in the rating of second cook or cook assistant; or

(iii) have been issued with an approved certificate of cookery by the Minister for Defence and have served for not less than three months at sea in the rating of second cook; or

(iv) have served for not less than five years at sea, of which at least four years shall have been in the rating of second cook or cook assistant; or

(v) have served for not less than five years at sea in the catering department in the rating of steward or stewardess or in a higher rating and have completed Part 2 of an approved course of training for ships' cooks.

5. (1) A person who complies with the requirements of Regulation 4 of these Regulations may apply to the Minister or to an approved institution for the issue of a certificate of competency as a ship's cook.

(2) Before the issue of any such certificate, the Minister may require the applicant to produce to him or to an approved institution--

( a ) such certificates of discharge and such other certificates signed by the masters or owners of ships in which the applicant has served as may be necessary to establish to the satisfaction of the Minister or to the satisfaction of an approved institution that the applicant has completed the appropriate qualifying sea service under Regulation 4 of these Regulations; and

( b ) any other certificate or document required to have been issued to the applicant under Regulation 4 of these Regulations.

6. (1) The certificate of competency shall be issued in duplicate, on payment of the appropriate fee (if any) as the Minister may require, the original to be delivered to the person entitled to the certificate, and the duplicate to be retained by the Minister.

(2) A record of all certificates of competency issued under these Regulations and of the suspension, cancellation or alteration of, and any other matters affecting any such certificate shall be kept, in such manner as the Minister may require, by such other person as the Minister may direct.

7. (1) If a person entitled to a certificate of competency proves to the satisfaction of the Minister that the person has, without fault on his part, lost or been deprived of a certificate already issued to him, the Minister shall, and where he is not so satisfied may, upon payment of such fee (if any) as he may require, cause a copy of the certificate to which the said person appears to be entitled to be issued to him.

(2) Any such copy shall, before it is so issued, be certified as such by such person as the Minister may have directed to keep the record referred to in Regulation 6 (2) of these Regulations.

8. (1) The Minister may specify that the standard of competency to be attained by ships' cooks may be the standard of competency required for the issue of a certificate of competency by an authority empowered in that behalf by the law of a country outside the State, and that a certificate issued by any such authority shall be treated as evidence of the attainment of a standard of competence equivalent to the standard required for the issue of a certificate of competency under these Regulations.

(2) Provided that any certificate issued by any such authority to any such ships' cook which is expressed to remain in force for a definite period shall remain in force, unless renewed, only until the expiration of that period.

9. An existing certificate granted in pursuance of section 27 (2) of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1906, and the Merchant Shipping (Certification of Ships' Cooks) Regulations, 1949 ( S.I. No. 281 of 1949 ), shall be deemed as equivalent to a certificate of competency issued under Regulation 5 of these Regulations.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 22nd day of October, 1987.

BRENDAN DALY,

Minister for the Marine.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations revoke the Merchant Shipping (Certification of Ships' Cooks) Regulations, 1979 (S.I. No. 281 of 1946).